An archaic or dialectal word meaning 'to acknowledge' or 'to admit,' used in older English texts.
From Old English a- (prefix indicating direction or state) combined with know. This was a natural formation in early English that eventually fell out of use as 'acknowledge' became the standard form.
Languages constantly shed old word variations—'aknow' was perfectly normal in the 1400s, but we replaced it with 'acknowledge,' which is longer but became the preferred form through sheer repeated use.
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