v.
Pronunciation: ' l ə rn
Function: verb
Inflected Form: learned \ ' l ə rnd, ' l ə rnt \ ; learn · ing
Etymology: Middle English lernen, from Old English leornian; akin to Old High German lern ē n 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 < learn ed that honesty paid>
2 a nonstandard : TEACH b obsolete : to inform of something
3 : to come to know : HEAR <we just learn ed that he was ill>
intransitive verb : to acquire knowledge or skill or a behavioral tendency
synonyms see DISCOVER
– learn · able \ ' l ə r-n ə -b ə l \ 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 Hollandsand 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.