Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Why is K silent in KNIFE? A Complete List of KN- Words...Bet you don't know them all!

The 'k' in knife wasn't always silent, and, in fact, when the English language was Old English almost 1,000 years ago, the 'k' in knife was most certainly pronounced.  It wasn't until the 16th or 17th century that English speakers began to drop the 'k' pronunciation, most likely or perhaps because it was easier to just say 'n' rather than a consonant cluster 'kn'.

Here's a list of 225 KN- words... Do you know them all?  Remember, don't pronounce the 'k'!

  1. knack
  2. knacked
  3. knacker
  4. knackered
  5. knackeries
  6. knackers
  7. knackery
  8. knacking
  9. knacks
  10. knackwurst
  11. knackwursts
  12. knap
  13. knapped
  14. knapper
  15. knappers
  16. knapping
  17. knaps
  18. knapsack
  19. knapsacked
  20. knapsacks
  21. knapweed
  22. knapweeds
  23. knar
  24. knarred
  25. knarry
  26. knars
  27. knaur
  28. knaurs
  29. knave
  30. knaveries
  31. knavery
  32. knaves
  33. knavish
  34. knavishly
  35. knawel
  36. knawels
  37. knead
  38. kneadable
  39. kneaded
  40. kneader
  41. kneaders
  42. kneading
  43. kneads
  44. knee
  45. kneecap
  46. kneecapped
  47. kneecapping
  48. kneecappings
  49. kneecaps
  50. kneed
  51. kneehole
  52. kneeholes
  53. kneeing
  54. kneel
  55. kneeled
  56. kneeler
  57. kneelers
  58. kneeling
  59. kneels
  60. kneepad
  61. kneepads
  62. kneepan
  63. kneepans
  64. knees
  65. kneesock
  66. kneesocks
  67. knell
  68. knelled
  69. knelling
  70. knells
  71. knelt
  72. knesset
  73. knessets
  74. knew
  75. knickerbocker
  76. knickerbockers
  77. knickers
  78. knickknack
  79. knickknacks
  80. knife
  81. knifed
  82. knifelike
  83. knifepoint
  84. knifepoints
  85. knifer
  86. knifers
  87. knifes
  88. knifing
  89. knight
  90. knighted
  91. knighthood
  92. knighthoods
  93. knighting
  94. knightliness
  95. knightlinesses
  96. knightly
  97. knights
  98. knish
  99. knishes
  100. knit
  101. knits
  102. knitted
  103. knitter
  104. knitters
  105. knitting
  106. knittings
  107. knitwear
  108. knives
  109. knob
  110. knobbed
  111. knobbier
  112. knobbiest
  113. knobblier
  114. knobbliest
  115. knobbly
  116. knobby
  117. knobkerrie
  118. knobkerries
  119. knoblike
  120. knobs
  121. knock
  122. knockabout
  123. knockabouts
  124. knockdown
  125. knockdowns
  126. knocked
  127. knocker
  128. knockers
  129. knocking
  130. knockoff
  131. knockoffs
  132. knockout
  133. knockouts
  134. knocks
  135. knockwurst
  136. knockwursts
  137. knoll
  138. knolled
  139. knoller
  140. knollers
  141. knolling
  142. knolls
  143. knolly
  144. knop
  145. knopped
  146. knops
  147. knosp
  148. knosps
  149. knot
  150. knotgrass
  151. knotgrasses
  152. knothole
  153. knotholes
  154. knotless
  155. knotlike
  156. knots
  157. knotted
  158. knotter
  159. knotters
  160. knottier
  161. knottiest
  162. knottily
  163. knottiness
  164. knottinesses
  165. knotting
  166. knottings
  167. knotty
  168. knotweed
  169. knotweeds
  170. knout
  171. knouted
  172. knouting
  173. knouts
  174. know
  175. knowable
  176. knower
  177. knowers
  178. knowing
  179. knowinger
  180. knowingest
  181. knowingly
  182. knowingness
  183. knowingnesses
  184. knowings
  185. knowledge
  186. knowledgeabilities (I doubt that this word is an actual word...)
  187. knowledgeability
  188. knowledgeable
  189. knowledgeableness
  190. knowledgeablenesses (And I doubt this one too!...)
  191. knowledgeably
  192. knowledges
  193. known
  194. knowns
  195. knows
  196. knubbier
  197. knubbiest
  198. knubby
  199. knuckle
  200. knuckleball
  201. knuckleballer
  202. knuckleballers
  203. knuckleballs
  204. knucklebone
  205. knucklebones
  206. knuckled
  207. knucklehead
  208. knuckleheaded
  209. knuckleheads
  210. knuckler
  211. knucklers
  212. knuckles
  213. knucklier
  214. knuckliest
  215. knuckling
  216. knuckly
  217. knur
  218. knurl
  219. knurled
  220. knurlier
  221. knurliest
  222. knurling
  223. knurls
  224. knurly
  225. knurs

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2 comments:

  1. Vanessa Correia-PintoApril 6, 2016 at 8:24 PM

    Great post. It's dropping was relatively recent in England, in the 17th century with so many foreigners coming and being unable to pronounce the k sound so the k sound was dropped. These foreigners also introduced new words into our language as well. Interestingly enough, the English language has only 26 letters for double the number of sounds hence the needs for combining different letters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ESL Meeting PointApril 6, 2016 at 10:21 PM

      Wow, thanks for sharing. I think I'll write a post about the letters and double the sounds... Thanks for reading!

      Delete

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