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 verb 1 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 a nonstandard : teach b obsolete : to inform of something
3 : 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.