I. ˈkeniŋ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from gerund of kennen to ken — more at ken
1. obsolete : range of sight : view
2. chiefly Scotland
a. : cognition , recognition
b. : a perceptible but small amount : little
his father was … a kenning on the wrong side of the law — R.L.Stevenson
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Old Norse, from kenna to perceive, know, name, name with a kenning + -ing — more at ken
: a metaphorical compound word or phrase used especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry
Germanic verse … laid main stress upon the trope known as kenning ; the ocean is the “whale's bath”, the “foaming fields”, the “sea-street” — F.B.Gummere