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Synonyms for keeners

Grammar : Noun
Spell : keen
Phonetic Transcription : kin


Définition of keeners

Origin :
  • c.1200, from Old English cene "bold brave," later "clever, wise," from Proto-Germanic *kan- "be able to" (see can). Original prehistoric senses seem to have been both "brave" and "skilled;" cognate with Old Norse kænn "skillful, wise," Middle Dutch coene "bold," Dutch koen, Old High German kuon "pugnacious, strong," German kühn "bold, daring." Sense of "eager" is from mid-14c. The meaning "sharp" is peculiar to English: of blades and edges early 13c., of sounds c.1400, of eyesight c.1720. A popular word of approval in teenager and student slang from c.1900.
  • As in mourner : noun lamenter
Example sentences :
  • He was getting a reputation for being one of the "keeners" of his division.
  • Extract from : « The Adventures of a Freshman » by Jesse Lynch Williams
  • They seem to be civilization's rudimentary relic of the Irish keeners and the paid mourners of the Orient.
  • Extract from : « Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 1 of 14 » by Elbert Hubbard
  • It had deep cadences in it and chanting inflections, not unlike the negro preachers or the keeners at Irish wakes.
  • Extract from : « Other Main-Travelled Roads » by Hamlin Garland
  • Good "Keeners" are in much request, and a really efficient howler is sure of regular employment.
  • Extract from : « Ireland as It Is » by Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
  • The keeners may or may not be professional, and the keens are more often of a traditional than of an improvised description.
  • Extract from : « Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886) » by Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco
  • The Irish keeners are invariably women, as also are all the continental dirge-singers of modern times.
  • Extract from : « Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886) » by Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco
  • The keeners lamented; the country people had a wake before the funeral, and a dinner after it—and there was an end.
  • Extract from : « The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 12, Issue 342, November 22, 1828 » by Various
  • The keeners were swaying themselves to and fro, there where they waited in the next room.
  • Extract from : « Strangers and Wayfarers » by Sarah Orne Jewett

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019