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Learn

Definition: Learn

Learn

Verb

1. Acquire or gain knowledge or skills; "She learned dancing from her sister"; "I learned Sanskrit".

2. Get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally; "I learned that she has two grown-up children"; "I see that you have been promoted".

3. Commit to memory; learn by heart.

4. Be a student of a certain subject; "She is reading for the bar exam".

5. Impart skills or knowledge to; "I taught them French"; "He instructed me in building a boat".

6. Find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort; "I want to see whether she speaks French"; "See whether it works"; "find out if he speaks Russian"; "Check whether the train leaves on time".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "learn" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Learn

DomainDefinition

Literature

Learn (1 syl.). Live and learn.
Cato, the censor, was an old man when he taught himself Greek.
Michael Angelo, at seventy years of age, said, "I am still learning."
John Kemble wrote out Hamlet thirty times, and said, on quitting the stage, "I am now beginning to understand my art."
Mrs. Siddons, after she left the stage, was found studying Lady Macbeth, and said, "I am amazed to discover some new points in the character which I never found out while acting it."
Milton, in his blindness, when past fifty, sat down to complete his Paradise Lost
Scott, at fifty-five, took up his pen to redeem an enormous liability.
Richardson was above fifty when he published his first novel, Pamela.
Benjamin West was sixty-four when be commenced his series of paintings, one of which is Christ Healing the Sick. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.

Tips from 1870

Usage: Learn, Teach. "I taught him grammar," not "I learned him grammar." "He taught us history." Source: Slips of Speech.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Learning

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

We are all learning throughout our lives, both explicit facts and the sort of experiential learning that comes from repetition. Education is the conscious attempt to promote learning in others. There are countless theories, sub-categories, in regard to learning. Here are a few:

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Observational learning

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Observational learning or social learning refers to learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining and replicating behavior observed in others.

It is most associated with the work of Albert Bandura. Social learning theory has played an important part in the debate concerning the effect of television on violent behaviour. Bandura's Bobo doll experiment is widely cited in psychology and demonstrated that children are more likely to engage in violent play with a life size rebounding doll after watching an adult do the same.

Required conditions

Bandura called the process of social learning modelling and gave four conditions required for a person to successfully model the behaviour of someone else:

Attention to the model

A person must first pay attention to a person engaging in a certain behaviour (the model).

Retention of details

Once attending to the observed behaviour, the observer must be able to effectively remember what the model has done.

Motor reproduction

The observer must be able to replicate the behaviour being observed. For example, juggling cannot be effectively learned by observing a model juggler if the observer does not already have the ability to perform the component actions (throwing and catching a ball).

Motivation and Opportunity

The observer must be motiviated to carry out the action they have observed and remembered, and must have the opportunity to do so. For example, a suitably skilled person must want to replicate the behaviour of a model juggler, and needs to have an appropriate number of items to juggle to hand.

Effect on behaviour

Social learning may effect behaviour in the follow ways:

Social learning in children

This method of learning is primarily prevalent in the younger years of development, when authority becomes important in a child's life.

See also

References and External Links

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Torah study

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Torah study is the near-ritualistic dedication to studying religious texts that has evolved among the Jews over generations. In some circles, most notably the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox, Torah study has become a way of life: in some communities, men forego work and spend their entire lives studying the Torah (intended to mean all the sacred writings and commentaries on the Bible, especially the Talmud).

The origins of this devotion to study are unclear, though it seems to have developed in the Hellenistic period, and may be a Jewish imitation of the Greek academies. Actually, Torah study per se is not a biblical mitzvah (commandment), and is only alluded to in the verse in (Deuteronomy 6:7): "And you shall teach it to your children." The Talmud comments on this that "Study is necessary in order to teach." The fact that study rose to such prominence rather quickly is attested to in another Talmudic discussion about which is preferred: study or action. The answer there, a seeming compromise, is "study that leads to action."

The theory that Torah study is essentially a Hellenistic innovation can be backed up by a study of other commandments closely related to Torah study. The most obvious of these is the Passover seder, where fathers are commanded to tell the story of the Exodus to their sons--another opportunity for study. The seder format in which this takes place is clearly structured along the lines of a Greek drinking festival.

Although the word Torah refers specifically to the Five Books of Moses, Jews also use the word to refer to Jewish Scripture in general; this includes the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud.

Torah Study by Orthodox Jews

In Yeshivas (schools of higher Jewish education), rabbinical schools and Kollels (adult-ed schools of higher Jewish education) the primary ways of studying Torah include study of (a) the weekly Torah portion, (b) works of the classic and modern day Meforshim (Biblical commentators), and (c) Talmud.

The Torah (Deuteronomy 6:7) states "And you shall teach it to your children." The Talmud (Kiddushin 30a) comments on this verse, "And you shall teach - that the words of Torah shall be sharp in your mouth so that if someone asks you something, you shall not fumble and then then tell it to him, rather you shall tell it to him immediately."

Orthodox Jews traditionally study the text of the Torah on four levels, (A) The Peshat, the surface meaning of the text, (B) Remez, looking for allusions or allegories in the text, (C) The derash, a rabbinic midrashic way of reading new lessons into the text, and (D) Sod, the hidden secret Kabbalistic reading of the Torah.

The initial letters of the words Peshat, Remez, Derash, Sod, forming together the Hebrew word Pardes, became the designation for the four-way method of studying Torah, in which the mystical sense given in the Kabbalah was the highest point. In later years this new method of studying Torah became erroneously believed to be ancient rabbinical method from the time of the Mishnah. This identification of new Kabbalistic teaching models with ancient Mishnaic modes of study developed on account of the expression "Pardes" (pleasure garden) in the Mishnah.

Torah Analysis by non-Orthodox Jews

Prior to The Enlightenment Jews believed that the first five books of the Bible were authored by God or Divinely inspired, and that they directly reflected God's intentions in human language. Since both Divine intentions and human language are complex, Scripture requires interpretation. Such interpretations were generally guided by the belief that the Torah as a whole provides all the elements necessary for the interpretation of any particular text. Such interpretations generally took any of four forms: an elucidation of the literal or plain meaning of the text; a homily applying the text to practical problems; a reading of the text as allegorical, and a mystical reading of the text.

After the Enlightenment many Jews began to participate in the wider European society, where they learned critical methods of textual study, the modern historical method, hermeneutics, and fields relevant to Bible study such as near-Eastern archaeology and linguistics. Many Jews found the findings of these disciplines compelling and considered them relevant. Most religious Jews held that such study was incompatible with Judaism, however, too many decided that such fields of scholarship were compatible with the religiouys study of Torah.

These areas of scholarship seemed to show that that the Bible was written by different people (who may have been divinely inspired) living at different times and in different societies. Consequently, one way to add more to Torah study would be to learn more about the intentions of these people, and the circumstances under which they lived. This type of study depended on evidence external to the text, especially archeological evidence and comparative literature. See the entries on Biblical Higher criticism and the Documentary hypothesis.

Today, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and some Modern Orthodox Rabbis draw on the lessons of critical scholarship as well as the traditional forms of Biblical exegesis. Many Orthodox Rabbis, however, reject most or all critical scholarship.

Religious Jews of all denominations hold as a belief that one must constantly strive to engage in Torah study. Orthodox Jews still hold to this requirement more rigorously than most Jews in other denominations, although committed Jews of all denominations engage in regular study as well.

See also: Torah, Judaism

Links

Conservative Rabbi Joel Roth on non-fundamentalist ways to study Torah and Talmud

Meeting God Face to Face: Conservative Judaism's historical form of Torah study

Book review of the Conservative movement's official Torah commentary

Articles on Torah and Historical Truth - Liberal Modern Orthodox views.

Introduction to Biblical criticism

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Torah study."

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Abbreviations & Acronyms: Learn

The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted.
EntrySourceExpressionField

LEARN

EnglishLarge european alluvial rivers newsletterEnvironment
LEADEnglishLearn,execute and diagnoseComputing

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Synonyms: Learn

Synonyms: ascertain (v), check (v), con (v), determine (v), discover (v), find out (v), get a line (v), get wind (v), get word (v), hear (v), instruct (v), larn (v), memorize (v), pick up (v), read (v), see (v), study (v), take (v), teach (v), watch (v). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Learn

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Discovery

Verb: discover, find, determine, evolve, learn; fix upon; pick up; find out, trace out, make out, hunt out, fish out, worm out, ferret out, root out; fathom; bring out, draw out; educe, elicit, bring to light; dig out, grub up, fish up; unearth, disinter.

Impulse

Get into the way, get into the knack of; learn; cling to, adhere to; repeat; acquire a habit, contract a habit, fall into a habit, acquire a trick, contract a trick, fall into a trick; addict oneself to, take to, get into.

Information

Be informed of; know; learn; get scent of, get wind of, gather from; awaken to, open one's eyes to; become alive, become awake to; hear, overhear, understand.

Learner

Verb: learn; practise.

Learning

Verb: learn; acquire knowledge, gain knowledge, receive knowledge, take in knowledge, drink in knowledge, imbibe knowledge, pick up knowledge, gather knowledge, get knowledge, obtain knowledge, collect knowledge, glean knowledge, glean information, glean learning.

Go to school, go to college, go to the university; matriculate; serve an (or one's) apprenticeship, serve one's time; learn one's trade; be informed; be taught.

Acquaint oneself with, master; make oneself master of, make oneself acquainted with; grind, cram; get up, coach up; learn by heart, learn by rote.

Memory

Get at one's fingers' ends, have at one's fingers', learn at one's fingers', know one's lesson, say one's lesson, repeat by heart, repeat by rote; say one's lesson; repeat, repeat as a parrot; have at one's fingers' ends.

Penitence

Verb: repent, be sorry for; be penitent; Adjective: rue; regret; think better of; recant; knock under; (submit); plead guilty; sing miserere, sing de profundis; cry peccavi; own oneself in the wrong; acknowledge, confess; (disclose); humble oneself; beg pardon; (apologize); turn over a new leaf, put on the new man, turn from sin; reclaim; repent in sackcloth and ashes; (do penance); learn by experience.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Learn

Specialty definitions using "learn": Adaline, adaptive linear element, applications programmer-analys, ART-artartificial neural networkblood-bank-booking clerkCADET, DECK, CALENDAR-CONTROL CLERK, BLOOD BANK, Chushan-rishathaim, CUCKOLD, customer service representativeDATA COMMUNICATIONS ANALYST, DATA COMMUNICATIONS TECHNICIAN, data communications technician superviso, director, sales, dogfoodend user consultant, EXECUTIVE TRAINEEGreenerHebbian, help desk representativeinbred gait, INCUBUS, information center specialistlearning curve, Licksmanager, business promotion, MANAGER, PROMOTION, manager, sales, monarch, MONROEnatural gait, NETWORK CONTROL OPERATOR, NEWSPAPER CARRIER, newspaper delivereroffice automation analys, Old Dogs will not Learn New TricksPHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT, physical therapy assistant, physical therapy technicia, PROGRAMMER-ANALYST, project development coordinator, Psychology, ExperimentalRDB, referendumsendmail, Sensitivity Training Groups, SMOKE JUMPER SUPERVISOR, social worker, clinical, social worker, health services, SOCIAL WORKER, MEDICAL, spot welder, body assembly, spot welder, line, Strike Sail, SUPERVISOR, NETWORK CONTROL OPERATORS, SUPERVISOR, PHOSPHORIC ACID, SymbMathTeach, TEACHER, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, technical operations specialis, TECHNICAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST, TECHNICAL TRAINING COORDINATORuser interface copyright, USER SUPPORT ANALYSTWater-Poet, WELDER, GUN, Whittington, WILDLIFE AGENT, REGIONAL, work group. (references)
Etymologies containing "learn": Polymathy. (references)

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Modern Usage: Learn

DomainUsage

Screenplays

It's unfair you presume I won't be able to learn. (American Beauty; writing credit: Alan Ball)

Then what a pair we could make, but what if it's a lesson I don't care to learn. (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles; writing credit: Anne Rice)

Ripley! Think of all that we can learn from it (Alien³; writing credit: Dan O'Bannon; Ronald Shusett)

You should learn to use that more often (City of Angels; writing credit: Dana Stevens. Based on the screenplay for the 1997 film 'Der Himmel über Berlin')

We French lost our war in Indochina because we failed to learn about the people we sought to lead (M. Butterfly; writing credit: David Henry Hwang.)

Lyrics

You love you learn (You Learn; performing artist: Alanis Morissette)

You must learn the rules (Where My Girls At; performing artist: 702)

I'll even learn to live without you (Don't Turn Around; performing artist: Ace Of Base)

You have to learn to crawl (Amazing; performing artist: Aerosmith)

I'm gaining strength, tying to learn pull my own weight (Too Little Too Late; performing artist: Barenaked Ladies)

Clever

By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's. (references; author: Mark Twain)

Rich earn; smart learn. (references; author: unknown)

Learn to listen. Opportunity often knocks softly. (references; author: unknown)

Don't learn the tricks of the trade, learn the trade. (references; author: unknown)

You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive. (references; author: unknown)

Movie/TV Titles

Play to Learn (1974)

Loops to Learn by (1970)

To Share and to Learn (1967)

We Learn About the Telephone (1965)

Learn to Ski (1964)

Song Titles

Learn to Fly (performing artist: Foo Fighters)

Live And Learn (performing artist: Joe Public)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Learn

DomainTitle

Books

  • Wild Health: How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn From Them (reference)

  • Getting into Your Wok With Annette Annechild: Learn How to Use Your Wok for Everything from Egg Making to Cake Baking! (reference)

  • The Complete Allergy Book: Learn to Become Actively Involved in Your Own Care (reference)

  • The 99 Critical Shots in Pool: Everything You Need to Know to Learn and Master the Game (reference)

  • Tao of Skiing : Aide Memoire for Cross-Country Skiing Aficionados (The Way to learn to Cross Country Ski) (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Theater & Movies

  • Learn To Play Rippin Lead Guitar with Paul Lidel (reference)

  • Learn Nutcracker Ballet Dances with Me (reference)

    (more DVD examples; more video examples)

  

Music

  

High Tech

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Learn

Photos:
Learn

More pictures...

Illustrations:
Learn

More pictures...

Computer Images:
Learn

More pictures...

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Photo Album: Learn

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

Want to learn more about your favorite star or galaxy? NASA Hubble Space Telescope pictures ... Credit: NASA.

A German Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum from the 73rd Fighter Squadron, Laage Air Base, Germany, taxis out with a U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 355th FS, Aviano AB, Italy. The 555th is deployed here to learn how to fly against the MiG-29s. (Photo.

The NF-16D VISTA will give the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., flexibility by providing one aircraft that can play the role of several fighters. It also provides students an opportunity to learn how to test future integra.

Students at Centreville Middle School learn about bird houses as part of an outdoor classroom being built on the school grounds. Credit: Keith Weller.

School children learn about soil during an NRCS and district educational event in northeastern Missouri. Credit: Charlie Rahm.

Joel Torres (right), NRCS, District Conservationist, Zapata, Texas, and Lauro Gutierrez (left) discuss range plans, while doing a study to determine grass stand and quality. Gutierrez's two sons look and learn in the process. Credit: USDA.

As part of long-term Agricultural Research Service experiments to learn the effects of different land-use sytems on crops and soils, chemist Chris Roager extracts nitrogen from soil samples taken from test plots at Pendleton, Oregon. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer..

Children learn the fundamentals of caring for the environment. Credit: Unknown.

Through ROAR - Rediscover Our American Roots -- students "read" rock art to learn the history of past peoples. Credit: UNknown.

Students learn about eye anatomy. Credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Digital Photo Gallery: Learn
 

"Laptop, powerbook G4" by Carl Dwyer
Commentary: "A close up of our company laptop with cuddley doggy looking around the corner to see if he can learn anything from the 'in-haus designers' hey, hey, hey +'+! ?."
"Tram control panel" by Peter Hamza
Commentary: "Learn how to drive."

Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

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Familiar Quotations: Learn

AuthorQuotation

Henry Brooks Adams

They know enough who know how to learn.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

By seeking and blundering we learn.

John Cotton Dana

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.

Joseph Joubert

To teach is to learn twice.

Milton Friedman

Governments never learn. Only people learn.

Ovid

We can learn even from our enemies.

Pindar

Learn what you are and be such.

Robert Burns

Learn taciturnity and let that be your motto!

Solon

Learn to obey before you command.

Sophocles

And proud men in old age learn to be wise.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Historic Usage: Learn

AuthorDateQuotation

Winston S. Churchill

1946

If two of the workmen know each other particularly well and are old friends, if their families are inter-mingled, and if they have "faith in each other's purpose, hope in each other's future and charity towards each other's shortcomings" - to quote some good words I read here the other day - why cannot they work together at the common task as friends and partners? Why cannot they share their tools and thus increase each other's working powers? Indeed they must do so or else the temple may not be built, or, being built, it may collapse, and we shall all be proved again unteachable and have to go and try to learn again for a third time in a school of war, incomparably more rigorous than that from which we have just been released. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

Brown v. Board of Education

1954

A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Learn

TitleAuthorQuote

A Christmas Carol

Dickens, Charles

Here, then, the wretched man whose name he had now to learn, lay underneath the ground

Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

We have yet to learn again the forgotten art of gaiety

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

Now, for example, I wanted To have my girls learn the trade of making card boxes

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

They were like poetry but they were only sentences to learn the spelling from

Time Enough for Love

Robert Heinlein

You live and learn. Or you don't live long

King Richard III

Shakespeare, William

That would I learn of you, As one being best acquainted with her humour

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

And as you play, you learn new tricks, new ways to mold the tone with your hands, to pinch the tone with your lips, and no one teaches you.

Gulliver's Travels

Swift, Jonathan

I likewise made a shift to learn several short sentences

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

I do not learn that the Indians ever troubled themselves to go after it.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Learn

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

Learn to garden. (references)

Learn to play a musical instrument. (references)

Try new hobbies and learn new skills. (references)

Business

Exporters will need to learn about the distribution provisions of the final WTO agreement. (references)

U.S. firms must also learn to be patient and allow for “slow growth” in the initial stages. (references)

Local companies have the personal connections and networks required to learn about potential projects. (references)

Children

Yugoslavia

Due to this lack of primary schooling, many Romani children do not learn to speak Serbian, and there is no instruction available in the Romani language. (references)

Guatemala

Children with physical disabilities often are discouraged from attending public schools, as teachers believe that they will not learn at the same speed as others. (references)

China

In areas where such orphanages operate, some state-run orphanages have exhibited a willingness to learn from them and to adopt some of their more modern practices. (references)

Civil Liberties

Brunei

The Ministry requires that all students, including non-Muslims, follow a course of study on the Islamic faith and learn the "jawi" (Arabic script). (references)

Economic History

Latvia

Foreign managers agree that Latvians generally are hard working, reliable and quick to learn. (references)

Philippines

The country has a literacy rate of 94 percent and Filipinos need only to 6 to 8 weeks to learn technical skills. (references)

Human Rights

Guatemala

The SAE provided a copy to the Human Rights Ombudsman, who offered access to the database as a public service for those who wished to learn if their names appeared on the list. (references)

Bolivia

There were allegations that security officials beat protesters whom they detained in the Chapare during the September-October 2000 disturbances, as well as allegations that they beat civilians to try to learn the location of missing security officials and the names of those responsible for their deaths. (references)

Colombia

The decrees also state that in the event that another authority should learn of crimes, the military must inform that authority and provide all relevant information to it. Another decree states that, with limited exceptions, any officer sentenced to prison by the military or the civilian justice system is to be separated from service. (references)

Minorities

Vietnam

The Government also told ethnic Kinh officials that they must learn the language of the locality in which they are working. (references)

Moldova

Representatives of the Russian speakers argued for a delay in the implementation of the law in order to permit more time to learn the language. (references)

Lithuania

The authorities indicated that the intent of the law is to apply moral incentives to learn Lithuanian as the official language of the State; they asserted that no one would be dismissed solely because of an inability to meet the language requirements. (references)

Political Economy

Japan

Although Japanese bureaucrats still wield tremendous power, the authority of Japanese politicians could be enhanced as they learn to use the new powers that these reforms make available to them. (references)

Political Rights

United Arab Emirates

There are no female members of the FNC. President Zayid's wife, Shaikha Fatima, who is chairwoman of the Women's Federation, regularly calls for the appointment of women as special observers at the FNC. Such observers would learn the procedures of the FNC, and some later ostensibly would be appointed as members. (references)

Trade

Russia

To learn whether an import license is needed for a particular product, contact the Russian Ministry for Economic Development and Trade licensing department. (references)

Travel

Egypt

Take time to learn the culture, and develop an appreciation for the Islamic faith. (references)

Russia

Signs are in Russian only, so it is helpful at least to learn the Cyrillic alphabet before you come. (references)

Korea

The exchange of business cards is very important and a means by which Koreans learn about the name, position and status of the other person. (references)

Worker Rights

Indonesia

After the new recruits arrive at the site they learn that they have been recruited as sex workers. (references)

Togo

They were fed poorly, crudely clothed, and inadequately cared for, and were neither educated nor permitted to learn a trade. (references)

Morocco

In addition many citizens claim that having children working to learn a craft is better than having them live on the streets, where they might turn to juvenile delinquency, prostitution, or substance abuse. (references)

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

REFERENDUM, n. A law for submission of proposed legislation to a popular vote to learn the nonsensus of public opinion.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Spoken Usage: Learn

SpeakerPhrase(s)

Dennis Miller

Women want successful careers, large families, and enough free time to exercise, join a book group, and learn a foreign language.

Jack Lemmon

That's just a bad lesson that a lot of people have to learn. I learned it early, and I was also advised early by people that really knew. You cannot wait for the laugh because you never know.

James Van Praagh

Oh, I think we've been here many, many times. I think we come back and learn lessons. I think this is our school room. We come back and learn various things.

John McCain

Yeah, but most of my life, I relive with enjoyment. And when you relive it, as you know, you learn from it.

Julia Child

Well, because I've done a lot of television, I'm sort of a generalist. I'm not a pastry cook, but I've had to learn a certain amount about it. I'm not a baker, though I've had to learn how to do it. I'm sort of a general cook.

Liza Minnelli

Gosh. I spent a month there. I had to. You have to. Years of doing things one way. But I wanted to learn and I wanted to know. That's the help that I found, if that helps at all. I hope so.

Martha Stewart

You have to grow the rice. You have to make the rice wine vinegar to put in the rice. You have to catch the fish. You have to learn how to cut it up. It's a lot more complicated than it looks.

Monica Lewinsky

I do. I'm an incredibly lucky girl. For someone who has made some very foolish mistakes and had some tough lessons to learn very quickly, I am still incredibly lucky.

Rush Limbaugh

We learn that you cannot compare nations.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Speeches: Learn

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

Andrew Jackson

1829-1837Let us extricate our country from the dangers which surround it and learn wisdom from the lessons they inculcate.

Harry S. Truman

1945-1953Misled by this philosophy, many peoples have sacrificed their liberties only to learn to their sorrow that deceit and mockery, poverty and tyranny, are their reward.

Lyndon B. Johnson

1963-1969I hope the new Soviet leaders can visit America so they can learn about our country at firsthand.

Richard Nixon

1969-1974Government must learn to take less from people so that people can do more for themselves.

Gerald Ford

1974-1977Of course, it is our responsibility to learn the right lesson from past mistakes.

Jimmy Carter

1977-1981We can also share our rehabilitation and treatment skills with other countries and learn from them as well.

Ronald Reagan

1981-1989When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits-not animals.

George Bush

1989-1993Every school must offer the kind of disciplined envorionment that makes it possible for our kids to learn.

Bill Clinton

1993-2001All our people, of whatever age, must have a chance to learn new skills.

George W. Bush

2001-2005What counts are the fact that the schools will be teaching the basics, and children learn how to read and compute.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Learn

"Learn" is generally used as a lexical verb (infinitive) -- approximately 74.70% of the time. "Learn" is used about 8,296 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Lexical Verb (infinitive)74.7%6,1971,578
Lexical Verb (base form)25.29%2,0984,146
                    Total100.00%8,296N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Name Usage Frequency: Learn

The following table summarizes the usage of "learn" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified.
NameUsage/GenderUsage per 100
million Persons
Rank in USA
LearnLast name30024,495
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expression: Learn

Expressions using "learn": eager to learn i learn english learn a lesson learn a trade learn about learn at one's own pace learn by experience learn by heart learn by rote learn of learn off learn one's lesson learn one's trade learn smth. by heart learn the hard way learn the roots learn to reckon learn up quick to learn To learn by heart To learn by rote. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "learn": learn-as-they-go, learn-by-doing, learn-to-ski.

Ending with "learn": re-learn.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Learn

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

learn spanish

3,595

learn greek

263

learn french

2,613

learn to read

248

learn italian

1,094

learn to dance

242

learn to type

967

learn unix

224

learn chinese

929

learn tarot

222

learn sign language

859

learn to play the piano

204

learn english

721

learn spanish free

202

learn to play guitar

717

learn arabic

197

learn portuguese

642

learn spanish online

192

learn japanese

627

learn russian

191

learn

601

learn direct

169

learn math

476

learn java

167

learn german

460

learn to surf

166

learn html

449

learn to break dance

162

learn to speak spanish

426

learn to swim

153

learn to sail

421

learn to speak french

151

learn to drive

413

learn french france

138

learn guitar

403

learn to speak italian

138

learn how to draw

352

learn spanish in spain

133

learn to fly

271

learn korean

132
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Learn

Language Translations for "learn"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Afrikaans

  

leer (leather, teach). (various references)

   

Albanian

  

studioj (explore, observe, read, read up, research, search, study, survey), nxë (admit, contain, hold, seat), marr vesh (arrange, be conscious, catch, discover, find out, get, get into, hear, hear from, know, penetrate, see, twig, understand), marr njoftim, mësoj (acquire, attune, be educated, coach, condition, digest, educate, enure, find, find out, get on to, get wind of, hear, illuminate, induct, instruct, inure, school, study, teach, train). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏فهم (accept, apprehend, apprehension, brain, catch, comprehend, comprehension, conceive, conception, discern, discernment, grasp, hear, hear of, intelligence, know, know of, learn about, make out, penetrate, perceive, perception, pick out, pierce, put across, puzzle out, realization, realize, see, see daylight, see the light, seeing, sense, skulk, sort out, take in, twig, understand, understanding, understood), ‏حفظ عن ظهر قلب (commit to memory, learn smth. by heart, memorize), ‏تعلم (education, impart, learning, pick up, study), ‏عمل بحمية, ‏إكتشف (be discovered, bring to light, come to light, detect, dig out, discover, figure out, find, find out, get wind of, glean, hit, nose, rout, rummage, search, spot, strike, uncover, unearth), ‏درس (case, classes, consideration, din into, elaborate, examine, excogitate, go over, instruction, learning, lecture, lesson, period, profess, read, read up, reading, study, talk over, teach, think out, tutor, view). (various references)

   

Asturian

  

deprender (to learn). (various references)

   

Aymara

  

yateqaña (to learn). (various references)

   

Basque

  

ikasi (learn to). (various references)

   

Bemba

  

ukusambilila (to learn). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

уча се, уча (get up, instruct, lesson, read, school, study, teach, tutor), узнавам (find, see), научавам се, научавам (acquire, hear, pick up, read up, teach, understand), преподавам (profess, read, teach). (various references)

   

Catalan

  

estudiar. (various references)

   

Cebuano

  

magtuon (to learn). (various references)

   

Chamorro

  

para ma komprende (to learn). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

(-ology, science, study). (various references)

   

Cornish

  

dysky (to learn). (various references)

   

Czech

  

učit se, uèit se (read, study), studovat (do, investigate, read, study, take, train), poznat (experience, identify, know, meet, recognize, taste), doslechnout se. (various references)

   

Danish

  

lære (learning). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

leren (leather, teach), aanleren. (various references)

   

Ecuadorian Quechua

  

yachacuna (to learn). (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

lerni. (various references)

   

Faeroese

  

læra (breed, bring up, educate, raise, teach), nema. (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

فهمیدن (Catch, Compass, Comprehend, Follow, Get, Grasp, Gripe, Induct, Intend, Realize, Savor, Savvy, See, Skill, Tell, Understand), یادگرفتن , فراگرفتن (Absorb, Comprehend, Engulf, Envelop, Form, Lick, Suffuse, Surround), خبرگرفتن , اموختن (Indoctrinate, Teach, Tent, Wit), اگاهی یافتن , دانستن (Account, Adjudge, Aim, Ascribe, Cognize, Con, Have, Know, Wit). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

oppia (acquire, pick up). (various references)

   

French

  

apprenez, apprendre (learning, let know). (various references)

   

Frisian

  

leare (leather, teach, to learn). (various references)

   

German

  

lernen (be at school, go to school, learn off, learn up, learned, learning, learnt, pick up, study, take up, to learn, train), erfahren (accomplished, adept, adeptly, experience, experienced, expert, find out, hear, learn of, learned, learnt, practiced, proficient, receive, seasoned, skilfull, skillfull, sophisticated, suffer, to adept, undergo, versatile). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

μαθαίνω (get into, hear about 1, hear about 2, know about). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

למד (study), ללמוד (study), לאלף (acquire knowledge, tame, teach, train). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

tanul (learnt, read, read into, study, to book, to learn, to profit, to study). (various references)

   

Icelandic

  

læra. (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

mempelajari (acquaint, read), berguru (study), belajar (study). (various references)

   

Inuktitut

  

illiluni (to learn). (various references)

   

Irish

  

foghlaim. (various references)

   

Italian

  

imparare. (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

拝承 (be informed, hear, understand). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

はいしょう (be informed, defeated general, hear, understand). (various references)

   

Kongo

  

ku-longuka (to learn). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

학습하십시요. (various references)

   

Macedonian

  

nauchi (to learn). (various references)

   

Malay

  

belajar. (various references)

   

Manx

  

ynsaghey (educate, instruct, master; training, pedagogy, teach, train, tutor). (various references)

   

Maori

  

ako (to learn). (various references)

   

Maya

  

kan (four, to learn). (various references)

   

Mohawk

  

-eweyentehta's (to learn). (various references)

   

Norwegian

  

lære (teach). (various references)

   

Occitan

  

aprene. (various references)

   

Papago

  

amichuth (to learn). (various references)

   

Papiamen

  

siña. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

earnlay.(various references)

   

Polish

  

uczyć się. (various references)

   

Portuguese

  

aprender (get, one learns), aprenda. (various references)

   

Portuguese Brazilian

  

aprenda. (various references)

   

Provencal

  

aprene (to learn). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

studia (consider, examine, explore, follow, prepare, read, study, survey), se instrui (educate, train), se deprinde (inure), reţine (arrest, bespeak, book, catch, confine, delay, detain, dock, engage, fix, ground, hinder, hold, hold in, impede, keep, keep back, keep in, laten, memorize, nota bene, refrain, remember, reserve, restrain, retain, secure, stop, take by the button, trammel, withhold), memoriza (memorize), deprinde (accustom, adopt, habituate, inure, master, play in, season into), afla (appear, be, consider, discover, experience, find, hear, see, strike, suppose, think, understand), învåţa, învãţa pe de rost (learn by heart), învãţa (bone, drill, educate, ground, indoctrinate, instruct, inure, master, read, school, study, teach, train). (various references)

   

Romansch

  

emprender (to learn). (various references)

   

Ruanda

  

kwiga (to learn). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

узнавать (cognize, learnt, recognize). (various references)

   

Samoan

  

e a'oa'o (to learn). (various references)

   

Scottish

  

ionnsaich (teach), fòghluim. (various references)

   

Sepedi

  

ithuta (to learn). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

učiti (instruct, lesson, study, teach, train), saznati (find out), naučiti (pick up, teach, train), doznati (ascertain, find out, search). (various references)

   

Shona

  

-dzidza (to learn). (various references)

   

Sicilian

  

imparari (to learn). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

aprender (acquire, get off, get up, learning, pick up, to learn), estudiar (analyse, analyze, con, design, discuss, do, go through, investigate, lecture, look at, plan, ponder, qualify, read, research, study, survey, take, think about, think out, think over, work). (various references)

   

Sranan

  

leri (teach). (various references)

   

Swazi

  

kú-fúndza (to learn). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

lära sig (get, learn...oneself, pick up), erfara (experience, taste). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

öğrenmek (ascertain, come to know, elicit, get to know, get wise to, hear, imbibe, inform oneself of smth., make acquainted with, make oneself acquainted with, master, school oneself to, study, wise up to, wit). (various references)

   

Turkmen 

  

цwrenmek. (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

вивчати (observe, scan, see into, study), засвоювати (adopt, assimilate, digest, internalize), дізнаватися (query). (various references)

   

Welsh

  

dysgu (teach). (various references)

   

Zulu

  

-funda (read, study). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Learn

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

acceperant, acceperat, acceperim, acceperint, acceperis, acceperit, acceperitis, accepero, acceperunt, acceperuntque, accepi, accepimus, accepisse, accepisset, accepissetis, accepisti, accepistis, accepit, accepitque, accepta, acceptam, acceptamque, acceptas, accepti, acceptis, acceptisque, accepto, acceptum, accepturi, accepturum, accepturus, acceptus, accipe, accipere, acciperem, acciperemus, acciperent, acciperet, accipiam, accipiamus, accipiant, accipias, accipiat, accipiatis, accipiatur, accipiebant, accipiebat, accipiemus, accipiendo, accipiendum, accipiens, accipient, accipientem, accipientes, accipientque, accipies, accipiesque, accipiet, accipietis, accipimus, accipio, accipis, accipit, accipite, accipitis, accipiunt, cognosco, conperi, conperit, conperto, didicerat, didicerint, didicero, didicerunt, didici, didicisset, didicisti, didicistis, didicit, discam, discant, discas, discat, discatis, disce, discent, discentes, discentium, discere, discerem, discerent, disceret, disces, discet, discite, disco, discunt, noscentur, noscetur, noscitur, perceperunt, percepit, percepturos, percipe, perciperent, percipiendum, percipientes, percipiet, percipio percepi perceptum, percipit, percipite, rescisset, rescivit. (various references)

Old English450-1100

ge-leornian, learnian. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: Learn

LanguageDateSourceProverbs Chapter 22, Verse 25
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintMhpote maqhV twn odwn autou kai labhV brocouV th sh yuch
Latin405VulgateNe forte discas semitas eius et sumas scandalum animae tuae
Middle English1395WyclifLest parauenture thou lerne the pathis of hym, and take sclaunder to thi soule.
Jacobean English1611King JamesLest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
Victorian English1833WebsterLest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
Basic English1964OgdenFor fear of learning his ways and making a net ready for your soul.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Learn

LanguageProverbs Chapter 22, Verse 25
CebuanoTingali unya ikaw makakat-on sa iyang mga dalan, Ug makabaton ka sa lit-ag sa imong kalag.
Croatianda se ne bi privikao na staze njegove i namjestio zamku duši svojoj.
Danishat du ikke skal lære hans Stier og hente en Snare for din Sjæl.
DutchOpdat gij zijn paden niet leert, en een strik over uw ziel haalt.
Finnishettä et tottuisi hänen teihinsä ja saattaisi sieluasi ansaan.
FrenchDe peur que tu ne t`habitues à ses sentiers, Et qu`ils ne deviennent un piège pour ton âme.
Germandu möchtest seinen Weg lernen und an deiner Seele Schaden nehmen.
Haitian CreoleW'a pran move mès yo. W'a rale malè sou ou.
HungarianHogy el ne tanuld az õ útait, és tõrt ne keress tennen magadnak.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hariNanti engkau akan meniru dia, dan tidak bisa lagi menghilangkan kebiasaan itu.
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lamasupaya jangan engkau belajar tingkah lakunya serta memasang jerat akan jiwamu.
Italianper non imparare i suoi costumi e procurarti una trappola per la tua vita.
MaoriKei akona e koe ona ara, a ka riro i a koe he mahanga mo tou wairua.
Norwegianforat du ikke skal lære dig til å gå på hans veier og få satt en snare for ditt liv!
Portuguesepara que não aprendas as suas veredas, e tomes um laço para a tua alma.   
Rumanianca nu cumva sq te deprinzi cu cqrqrile lui, wi sq-yi ajungq o cursq pentru suflet. -
RussianЮФПВЩ ОЕ ОБХЮЙФШУС РХФСН ЕЗП Й ОЕ ОБЧМЕЮШ РЕФМЙ ОБ ДХЫХ ФЧПА.
Spanishno sea que aprendas sus maneras y pongas una trampa para tu propia vida.
Swedishpå det att du icke må lära dig hans vägar och bereda en snara för ditt liv.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Learn

Derivations

Words beginning with "learn": learnable, learned, learnedly, learnedness, learnednesses, learner, learners, learning, learnings, learns, learnt. (additional references)

Words ending with "learn": mislearn, outlearn, overlearn, relearn, unlearn. (additional references)

Words containing "learn": clearness, clearnesses, mislearned, mislearning, mislearns, mislearnt, outlearned, outlearning, outlearns, outlearnt, overlearned, overlearning, overlearns, relearned, relearning, relearns, relearnt, unlearnable, unlearned, unlearning, unlearns, unlearnt. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Learn" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: cearn, elar, Elgaren, fearn, gearn, Glenarn, jearn, jewarna, kearn, laern, lairn, larj, leanv, Leard, learna, learnmt, Learny, learp, Lefranc, lera, Leren, lern, Lerna, lernt, leur, llerena, lourn, lurn. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Learn"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "learn" (pronounced ler"n)
2-er" nfern, adjourn, burn, churn, concern, discern, durn, earn, Erne, Hern, Kern, Kirn, return, sauterne, spurn, stern, turn, unconcern, upturn, urn, yearn.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Learn

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: renal.

Words within the letters "a-e-l-n-r"

-1 letter: earl, earn, elan, lane, lean, lear, near, rale, real.

-2 letters: ale, ane, are, ear, era, ern, lar, lea, nae, ran.

-3 letters: ae, al, an, ar, el, en, er, la, na, ne, re.

 Words containing the letters "a-e-l-n-r"
 

+1 letter: aliner, almner, angler, antler, darnel, lancer, lander, lanker, lanner, larine, leaner, learns, learnt, linear, loaner, nailer, nearly, neural, planer, rankle, regnal, reloan, renail, rental, replan, unreal, vernal.

 

+2 letters: adrenal, aileron, airline, aleuron, aliener, alienor, aligner, aliners, almners, almoner, angerly, anglers, antlers, arsenal, blander, blanker, blarney, candler, carline, central, charnel, clanger, cleaner, corneal, crankle, dandler, dangler, darnels, enabler, engrail, enlarge, ensnarl, enteral, enthral, eternal, flaneur, flanger, flanker, frenula, funeral, gangrel, general, glancer, gleaner, gnarled, granule, grapnel, handler, hernial, inhaler, inlayer, jangler, klavern, ladrone, lancers, landers, landler, langrel, lankier, lanners, lantern, larceny, latrine, launder, leaners, learned, learner, loaners, lucarne, lurdane, mandrel, mangler, manlier, marline, mineral, nailers, nargile, nebular, neurula, neutral, nuclear, numeral, plainer, planers, planner, planter, plenary, praline, preanal, preplan, ralline, rankled, rankles, ranulae, ratline, ravelin, realign, reclean, reginal, relaxin, relearn, reliant, reloans, renails, renewal, rentals, repanel, replans, replant, retinal, saltern, slander, snarled, snarler, sternal, tangler, teleran, trenail, unclear, unlearn, unravel, ventral, venular, wangler, wrangle.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Images: Digital Art
9. Quotations: Familiar
10. Quotations: Historic
11. Quotations: Fiction
12. Quotations: Non-fiction
13. Quotations: Spoken
14. Quotations: Speeches
15. Usage Frequency
16. Names: Frequency
17. Expressions
18. Expressions: Internet
19. Translations: Modern
20. Translations: Ancient
21. Bible Trace
22. Abbreviations
23. Acronyms
24. Derivations
25. Rhymes
26. Anagrams
27. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.