"Ken" meaning in English

See Ken in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

IPA: /kɛn/, /kɪn/ [pin-pen-merger] Audio: En-us-ken.ogg
Rhymes: -ɛn Head templates: {{en-proper noun}} Ken
  1. A diminutive of the male given name Kenneth. Derived forms: Ken Burns effect, Red Ken
    Sense id: en-Ken-en-name-iGB~Aoyt Categories (other): English diminutives of male given names, English given names, English male given names, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 5 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 44 49 7 Disambiguation of Pages with 5 entries: 40 40 20 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 40 45 15
  2. (colloquial, in combination) Kensington in London. Tags: colloquial, in-compounds
    Sense id: en-Ken-en-name-S3uJZaLE Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 5 entries, Pages with entries, Neighbourhoods in Greater London, England Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 44 49 7 Disambiguation of Pages with 5 entries: 40 40 20 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 40 45 15 Disambiguation of Neighbourhoods in Greater London, England: 8 86 6
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Proper name

IPA: /kɛn/, /kɪn/ [pin-pen-merger] Audio: En-us-ken.ogg Forms: Kens [plural]
Rhymes: -ɛn Head templates: {{en-proper noun|s}} Ken (plural Kens)
  1. A surname.
    Sense id: en-Ken-en-name-EMUC1F3L Categories (other): English surnames, Pages with 5 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of Pages with 5 entries: 40 40 20 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 40 45 15
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Ken",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English diminutives of male given names",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English given names",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English male given names",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "44 49 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 40 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 5 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 45 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "67 33",
          "word": "Ken Burns effect"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "67 33",
          "word": "Red Ken"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A diminutive of the male given name Kenneth."
      ],
      "id": "en-Ken-en-name-iGB~Aoyt",
      "links": [
        [
          "diminutive",
          "diminutive"
        ],
        [
          "given name",
          "given name"
        ],
        [
          "Kenneth",
          "Kenneth#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "44 49 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 40 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 5 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 45 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 86 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Neighbourhoods in Greater London, England",
          "orig": "en:Neighbourhoods in Greater London, England",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              3
            ],
            [
              53,
              56
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003, Rob Humphreys, The Rough Guide to London, page 327:",
          "text": "Kensington High Street — better known as High Street Ken after the nearby tube — is dominated architecturally by […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              36,
              39
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2015, James Sherwood, James Sherwood's Discriminating Guide to London:",
          "text": "The ladies (and gentlemen) of South Ken and Chelsea do like their raw food, and Daphne's does a terrific tuna tartare with avocado and wild fennel, black figs, gorgonzola and hazelnuts; […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Kensington in London."
      ],
      "id": "en-Ken-en-name-S3uJZaLE",
      "links": [
        [
          "Kensington",
          "Kensington"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(colloquial, in combination) Kensington in London."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "in-compounds"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɛn/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/kɪn/",
      "tags": [
        "pin-pen-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-ken.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/33/En-us-ken.ogg/En-us-ken.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/En-us-ken.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛn"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "ken"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "kin (pin–pen merger)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Ken"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Kens",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "s"
      },
      "expansion": "Ken (plural Kens)",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English surnames",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 40 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 5 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 45 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "id": "en-Ken-en-name-EMUC1F3L",
      "links": [
        [
          "surname",
          "surname"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɛn/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/kɪn/",
      "tags": [
        "pin-pen-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-ken.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/33/En-us-ken.ogg/En-us-ken.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/En-us-ken.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛn"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "ken"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "kin (pin–pen merger)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Ken"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms with homophones",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 5 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛn",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛn/1 syllable",
    "en:Neighbourhoods in Greater London, England"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Ken Burns effect"
    },
    {
      "word": "Red Ken"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Ken",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English diminutives of male given names",
        "English given names",
        "English male given names"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A diminutive of the male given name Kenneth."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "diminutive",
          "diminutive"
        ],
        [
          "given name",
          "given name"
        ],
        [
          "Kenneth",
          "Kenneth#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              3
            ],
            [
              53,
              56
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003, Rob Humphreys, The Rough Guide to London, page 327:",
          "text": "Kensington High Street — better known as High Street Ken after the nearby tube — is dominated architecturally by […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              36,
              39
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2015, James Sherwood, James Sherwood's Discriminating Guide to London:",
          "text": "The ladies (and gentlemen) of South Ken and Chelsea do like their raw food, and Daphne's does a terrific tuna tartare with avocado and wild fennel, black figs, gorgonzola and hazelnuts; […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Kensington in London."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Kensington",
          "Kensington"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(colloquial, in combination) Kensington in London."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "in-compounds"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɛn/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/kɪn/",
      "tags": [
        "pin-pen-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-ken.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/33/En-us-ken.ogg/En-us-ken.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/En-us-ken.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛn"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "ken"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "kin (pin–pen merger)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Ken"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms with homophones",
    "Pages with 5 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛn",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛn/1 syllable",
    "en:Neighbourhoods in Greater London, England"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Kens",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "s"
      },
      "expansion": "Ken (plural Kens)",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English surnames"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "surname",
          "surname"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɛn/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/kɪn/",
      "tags": [
        "pin-pen-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-ken.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/33/En-us-ken.ogg/En-us-ken.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/En-us-ken.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛn"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "ken"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "kin (pin–pen merger)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Ken"
}

Download raw JSONL data for Ken meaning in English (3.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (5ee713e and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.