knew

verb, past tense of know

«knew» in the English dictionary: Early Modern English — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Early Modern English

Meaning

To be aware of someone or to recognise them; in the third sentence, to have chosen or loved someone before they were born. tree →

Then and now

Today "knew" means to understand or be aware of something. The third sentence uses an old sense, meaning to have a close, chosen bond with a person, and "knew" in the first sentence is closer to "recognised".

Examples

And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew him not. (Torah GEN.42.8, JPS 1917) tree →
No one knew what to do. (Fifty Famous Stories Retold) tree →
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee." Rabbi Luria, gives the Hebrew version which I have translated. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →

Note

Today: recognised; had intimate knowledge of.

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «knew» in the Early Modern English dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«knew» in the Early Modern English dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/knew/