Kahn

English

Etymology

• As a north German surname, from Low German Kane (“small boat”), from Middle Low German kāne, from Old Saxon *kano, from Proto-West Germanic *kanō, from Proto-Germanic *kanô (“vessel, boat”).
• Also as a north German surname, from a short form of Kahnert, a variant of Konrad.
• Among Jews, a Germanicised form of Cohen.

Proper noun

Kahn

1. A surname from German.

Anagrams

• Hank, Khan, Nakh, ankh, hank, khan

German

Etymology

An originally only Central and Low German word, spread by Luther. From northern Middle High German kane and Middle Low German kāne, from Old High German and Old Saxon *kano, all from Proto-West Germanic *kanō, from Proto-Germanic *kanô (“vessel, boat”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaːn/
• Rhymes: -aːn

Noun

Kahn m (strong, genitive Kahns or Kahnes, plural Kähne)

1. a small flat-bottomed boat such as a punt, used on inland waters

   Synonym: Nachen

2. (slightly humorous) a ship, especially when old or in need of repair

Declension

Declension of Kahn [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Kahn	die	Kähne
genitive	eines	des	Kahns, Kahnes	der	Kähne
dative	einem	dem	Kahn, Kahne1	den	Kähnen
accusative	einen	den	Kahn	die	Kähne

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• einen im Kahn haben

Further reading

• “Kahn” in Duden online
• “Kahn” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache