Ken appeared on the English horizon in the 16th century referring to the distance bounding the range of ordinary vision at sea (about 20 miles), and would thus have been familiar to skippers in particular. …

KEN definition: knowledge, understanding, or cognizance; mental perception. See examples of ken used in a sentence.

KEN definition: 1. not in your area of knowledge: 2. to know someone or something 3. not in your area of…. Learn more.

1. knowledge or understanding: an idea beyond one's ken. 2. range of sight or vision.

In this context, the phrase is infelicitous : ' beyond one's ken ', in its ordinary usage, means beyond one's powers of comprehension.

8 hours ago · "Jeopardy!" host Ken Jennings is offering his endorsement to any 2028 candidate who promises to "prosecute the former regime at every level" in a social media post.

Ken in American English (ken) noun a male given name, form of Kendall or Kenneth

20 hours ago · We're sharing everything we know about Ken Jeong's life with wife Tran Ho, who is a family physician and breast cancer survivor.

Dec 28, 2025 · In common usage a fossil word, found only in phrases such as beyond one’s ken and swim into one’s ken.

There are six meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun ken, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.