Etymology Map
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Cunning

3 stages from Old English to English.

Today it means skilled at achieving one's ends by deceit

Where does the word "cunning" come from? It comes from Old English cunnan, passing through Middle English before entering English (1590s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
cunnan
Old English · medieval
"to know"
'to know, know how to', the ancestor of modern 'can'
2
Stage 2 of 3
cunning
Middle English · 1300s
"skilful"
'learned, skilful'; Psalm 137 in the 1611 Bible says 'let my right hand forget her cunning', meaning her skill
3
Stage 3 of 3
cunning
English · 1590s
"sly, clever"
darkened to 'crafty, sly', though village healers were still called 'cunning folk' into the 1800s
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Read the full story

Cunning’s story begins in Old English: cunnan meant “to know.” 'to know, know how to', the ancestor of modern 'can'. By 1300s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as cunning. 'learned, skilful'; Psalm 137 in the 1611 Bible says 'let my right hand forget her cunning', meaning her skill. It reached English by 1590s as cunning. Darkened to 'crafty, sly', though village healers were still called 'cunning folk' into the 1800s. Today, cunning means skilled at achieving one's ends by deceit.