Definition of Could. Meaning of Could. Synonyms of Could

Here you will find one or more explanations in English for the word Could. Also in the bottom left of the page several parts of wikipedia pages related to the word Could and, of course, Could synonyms and on the right images related to the word Could.

Definition of Could

Could
Can Can, v. t. & i. Note: [The transitive use is obsolete.] [imp. Could.] [OE. cunnen, cannen (1st sing. pres. I can), to know, know how, be able, AS. cunnan, 1st sing. pres. ic cann or can, pl. cunnon, 1st sing. imp. c[=u][eth]e (for cun[eth]e); p. p. c[=u][eth] (for cun[eth]); akin to OS. Kunnan, D. Kunnen, OHG. chunnan, G. k["o]nnen, Icel. kunna, Goth. Kunnan, and E. ken to know. The present tense I can (AS. ic cann) was originally a preterit, meaning I have known or Learned, and hence I know, know how. [root]45. See Ken, Know; cf. Con, Cunning, Uncouth.] 1. To know; to understand. [Obs.] I can rimes of Rodin Hood. --Piers Plowman. I can no Latin, quod she. --Piers Plowman. Let the priest in surplice white, That defunctive music can. --Shak. 2. To be able to do; to have power or influence. [Obs.] The will of Him who all things can. --Milton. For what, alas, can these my single arms? --Shak. M[ae]c[ae]nas and Agrippa, who can most with C[ae]sar. --Beau. & Fl. 3. To be able; -- followed by an infinitive without to; as, I can go, but do not wish to. Syn: Can but, Can not but. It is an error to use the former of these phrases where the sens requires the latter. If we say, ``I can but perish if I go,' ``But' means only, and denotes that this is all or the worst that can happen. When the apostle Peter said. ``We can not but speak of the things which we have seen and heard.' he referred to a moral constraint or necessety which rested upon him and his associates; and the meaning was, We cannot help speaking, We cannot refrain from speaking. This idea of a moral necessity or constraint is of frequent occurrence, and is also expressed in the phrase, ``I can not help it.' Thus we say. ``I can not but hope,' ``I can not but believe,' ``I can not but think,' ``I can not but remark,' etc., in cases in which it would be an error to use the phrase can but. Yet he could not but acknowledge to himself that there was something calculated to impress awe, . . . in the sudden appearances and vanishings . . . of the masque --De Quincey. Tom felt that this was a rebuff for him, and could not but understand it as a left-handed hit at his employer. --Dickens.
Could
Could Could (k??d), imp. of Can. [OF. coude. The l was inserted by mistake, under the influence of should and would.] Was, should be, or would be, able, capable, or susceptible. Used as an auxiliary, in the past tense or in the conditional present.

Meaning of Could from wikipedia

- third-person singular. The central English modal auxiliary verbs are can (with could), may (with might), shall (with should), will (with would), and must. A...
- "I Could Not Ask for More" is a song by American singer-songwriter Edwin McCain for the soundtrack of the 1999 romantic drama film Message in a Bottle...
- If Books Could Kill is a podcast hosted by Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri, in which they critique bestselling nonfiction books of the late 20th and...
- Could It Be may refer to: "Could It Be" (Georgina & Paul Giordimaina song), 1991 Eurovision Song Contest entry "Could It Be" (Charlie Worsham song) "Could...
- "This Could Be Us" is a song by American hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd. It was released on April 21, 2015, by EarDrummers and Interscope Records, as the fourth...
- the browser was able to communicate with a given server, but the server could not find what was requested. The error may also be used when a server does...
- "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck" (sometimes phrased with "could" rather than "would") is an American English-language tongue-twister. The woodchuck...
- The Little Engine That Could is an American folktale existing in the form of several illustrated children's books and films. The story originated and...
- This Could Be Texas is the debut studio album by the British group English Teacher, released on 12 April 2024 through Island Records. It was produced...
- display the URL of a web page above the page in an address bar. A typical URL could have the form http://www.example.com/index.html, which indicates a protocol...