kan
v. C2 Proficiency US //ˈkæn// kan
v. to know or understand something. This is a very old word that people do not use in modern conversation anymore.
v. to know, understand, or be able to do something. This is an archaic auxiliary or lexical verb, now largely obsolete in standard modern English except in specific dialects or historical literature.
I kan my duty to the king.
In the old manuscript, the knight claimed he did not kan the language of the travelers.
The text was written in a dialect where the speaker would kan his craft better than any modern apprentice might understand their own.
Borrowed from Japanese 菅 (Kan) or かん (Kan).
Usage
Archaic form of 'can' or 'know'; in its lexical sense, it is transitive and takes a direct object.