KEEN

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English kene brave, sharp, from Old English cēne brave; akin to Old High German kuoni brave Date: 13th century 1. having a fine edge or point ; sharp , affecting one as if by cutting , pungent to the sense , 2. a. showing a quick and ardent responsiveness ; enthusiastic , eager , intense , 3. intellectually alert ; having or characteristic of a quick penetrating mind , sharply contested , extremely sensitive in perception , wonderful , excellent , see: sharp ~ly adverb ~ness noun II. noun Date: 1830 a lamentation for the dead uttered in a loud wailing voice or sometimes in a wordless cry, III. verb Etymology: Irish caoinim I lament, weep Date: 1845 intransitive verb 1. to lament with a ~, to make a sound suggestive of a ~, to lament, mourn, or complain loudly, transitive verb to utter by ~ing, ~er noun