Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “-ken” come from?

-ken (Middle English) comes from Dutch -ken, from Middle Dutch -ken, from Old Dutch -kīn, from Proto-Germanic *-ukīn.

Ancestry of “-ken”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutch-kenAlternative form of -ke
2Middle Dutch-ken—
3Old Dutch-kīn—
4Proto-Germanic*-ukīn—

Words derived from “-ken”

  • -k
Every word from Proto-Germanic *-ukīn →