What does "beknow" mean?

To know about; have knowledge of; recognise; understand; be aware (of); be knowledgeable about.

What is a synonym for "beknow"?

Common synonyms include: confess, make a clean breast.

Beknow

verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1
To know about; have knowledge of; recognise; understand; be aware (of); be knowledgeable about. transitive
"At length Alkimedon, his friend and comrade, right beknew it; [...]"
2
To acknowledge; own; confess. transitive
"For vnto the no nombre can be layd for to preſcrybe remiſſions off offence In hertes retornd, as thow thy ſellff haſt ſayd. And I, beknow my Fawt my neclegence [...]"

Synonyms

All synonyms

confess make a clean breast

Example

More examples

"At length Alkimedon, his friend and comrade, right beknew it; [...]"

Etymology

From Middle English beknowen, biknowen, from Old English becnāwan (“to know, know about”), equivalent to be- + know. Cognate with Old High German bichnāan (“to recognise, see”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.