lahr-JESS
The philanthropist’s largess transformed the struggling school into a state-of-the-art institution.
Fun Fact
Historically, largess was associated with medieval nobility, who were expected to distribute wealth to maintain loyalty and social harmony. It reflects the enduring importance of generosity in building community bonds.
ken
(noun) The range of one’s knowledge, understanding, or awareness.
Quantum physics lies far beyond my ken, no matter how many articles I read.
Ken comes from Old English cennan, meaning “to know” or “to make known,” and is closely related to Middle English and Scots usage where it meant knowledge, perception, or recognition. Over time, the word narrowed to describe the limits of what someone knows or understands, which is why it’s often used today in phrases like “beyond my ken.”
Fun Fact
Although ken feels archaic, it survives almost entirely through its idiomatic use. Writers and speakers still rely on it because no other single word captures the idea of a mental boundary—a point where familiarity ends and the unknown begins. That makes ken less about intelligence and more about perspective: everyone’s ken is different.
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