LEARN

verb (~ed; ~ing) Etymology: Middle English lernen, from Old English leornian; akin to Old High German lernēn to ~, Old English last footprint, Latin lira furrow, track Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. a. to gain knowledge or understanding of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience , memorize , to come to be able , to come to realize , 2. teach , to inform of something, to come to know ; hear , intransitive verb to acquire knowledge or skill or a behavioral tendency, see: discover ~able adjective ~er noun Usage: Learn in the sense of “teach” dates from the 13th century and was standard until at least the early 19th . But by Mark Twain's time it was receding to a speech form associated chiefly with the less educated . The present-day status of ~ 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.