ken

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The Word of the Day for April 13 is:

ken   \KEN\   noun 
     1 a : the range of vision  b : sight, view 
    *2 : the range of perception, understanding, or knowledge 

Example sentence:
      The author advised the aspiring writers in the crowd to 
develop an authoritative voice by sticking to subjects within 
their ken.

Did you know?
      "Ken" appeared on the English horizon in the 16th century 
as a term of measurement of the distance bounding the range of 
ordinary vision at sea -- about 20 miles. British author John 
Lyly used that sense in 1580 when he wrote, "They are safely 
come within a ken of Dover." Other 16th century writers 
used "ken" to mean "range of vision" ("Out of ken we were ere 
the Countesse came from the feast." -- Thomas Nashe) or "sight" 
("'Tis double death to drown in ken of shore." -- Shakespeare). 
Today, however, "ken" rarely suggests literal sight. 
Rather, "ken" nowadays almost always implies a range of 
comprehension, understanding, or knowledge.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.