kenning

kenning
/ken"ing/, n.
a conventional poetic phrase used for or in addition to the usual name of a person or thing, esp. in Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon verse, as "a wave traveler" for "a boat."
[1880-85; < ON; see KEN1, -ING1]

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▪ medieval literature
      concise compound or figurative phrase replacing a common noun, especially in Old Germanic, Old Norse, and Old English poetry. A kenning is commonly a simple stock compound such as “whale-path” or “swan road” for “sea,” “God's beacon” for “sun,” or “ring-giver” for “king.”

      Many kennings are allusions that become unintelligible to later generations. A non-Germanic analogue is the Homeric epithet—e.g., “rosy-fingered dawn.” See also skaldic poetry.

      The term is a derivative of the Old Norse kenna, “to perceive,” “to know,” or “to name.”

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  • Kenning — Kenning, en el nórdico antiguo, significa símbolo, el hecho de nombrar, cuyo plural en esa lengua es kenningar. Relacionado con kenna que significa conocer, nombrar con un kenning. La kenning es una figura retórica usada en las producciones… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Kenning — Ken ning, n. [See {Ken}, v. t.] 1. Range of sight. [Obs.] Bacon. [1913 Webster] 2. The limit of vision at sea, being a distance of about twenty miles. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • kenning — (n.) O.E. cenning procreation; declaration in court, prp. of KEN (Cf. ken) (v.). From early 14c. in senses sign, token; teaching, instruction; c.1400 as mental cognition. From 1883 as periphrastic expression in early Germanic poetry; in this… …   Etymology dictionary

  • kenning — [ken′iŋ] n. [ME: see KEN] 1. Scot. a) knowledge or recognition b) a tiny quantity; trace 2. [ON, symbol < kenna: see KEN] in early Germanic, as Old English, poetry, a metaphorical name, usually a compound, for something (Ex.: “whale path” for… …   English World dictionary

  • Kenning — A kenning (Old Norse kenning [cʰɛnːiŋg] , Modern Icelandic pronunciation [cʰɛnːiŋk] ) is a circumlocution used instead of an ordinary noun in Old Norse and later Icelandic poetry. For example, Old Norse poets might replace sverð , the regular… …   Wikipedia

  • kenning —    A kenning is a traditional figure of speech distinctive to OLD ENGLISH and Old Norse poetry.The term kenning seems to have derived from the Germanic word kenna, meaning to define or characterize in other words, to name. Usually considered a… …   Encyclopedia of medieval literature

  • Kenning — Als die Kenning (von altnord. kenna „kennzeichnen“, Pl. Kenningar) wird in der altgermanischen, besonders der altisländischen Stabreimdichtung (Edda, Skalden) das Stilmittel einer poetischen Umschreibung einfacher Begriffe bezeichnet. Im… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kenning — Kẹn|ning 〈f.; , nin|gar〉 bildersprachl. Ausdrucksweise in der altgerm. Dichtung [anord.; verwandt mit nhd. kennen] * * * Kẹn|ning, die; , ar […ŋgar] u. e [anord. kenning, eigtl. = Erkennung] (Literaturwiss.): (in der altgermanischen Dichtung)… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Kenning — Ken Ken, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Kenned} (k[e^]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Kenning}.] [OE. kennen to teach, make known, know, AS. cennan to make known, proclaim, or rather from the related Icel. kenna to know; akin to D. & G. kennen to know, Goth. kannjan …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Kenning — Un kenning (pluriel savant : kenningar) est une figure de style propre à la poésie scandinave, qui consiste à remplacer un mot par une périphrase à valeur métaphorique. La guerre est par exemple appelée vacarme des épées dans certaines… …   Wikipédia en Français

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