Main Entry:

learn

Pronunciation:

\ˈlərn\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

learned \ˈlərnd, ˈlərnt\ ; learn·ing

Etymology:

Middle English lernen, from Old English leornian; akin to Old High German lernēn to learn, Old English last footprint, Latin lira furrow, track

Date:

before 12th century

transitive verb1 a (1): to gain knowledge or understanding of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience <learn a trade> (2): memorize <learn the lines of a play> b: to come to be able <learn to dance> c: to come to realize <learned that honesty paid>2 anonstandard : teach bobsolete : to inform of something3: to come to know : hear <we just learned that he was ill>intransitive verb: to acquire knowledge or skill or a behavioral tendency

synonyms see discover

— learn·able \ˈlər-nə-bəl\ adjective

— learn·er noun

usage Learn in the sense of “teach” dates from the 13th century and was standard until at least the early 19th <made them drunk with true Hollands—and then learned them the art of making bargains — Washington Irving>. But by Mark Twain's time it was receding to a speech form associated chiefly with the less educated <never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump — Mark Twain>. The present-day status of learn has not risen. This use persists in speech, but in writing it appears mainly in the representation of such speech or its deliberate imitation for effect.