could
verbEtymology
From Middle English coude, couthe, cuthe, from Old English cūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan (“to be able”) (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). Cognate with German konnte, Swedish kunde. The -l- in the spelling was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would; this analogy formerly affected the pronunciation as well and was probably assisted by the tendency for /l/ to be lost in those words (and so not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).
Definitions
simple past of can
- Before I was blind, I could see very well.
- When I was young everybody could easily find a job in a matter of days.
- When I was your age, I could run 10mi in under an hour.
conditional of can
- "If I'd had a paddle I could've spun by that dashed root," Meekins said, feeling some apology due for the mishap. "When I first climbed out of that fool creek I thought my arm had got twisted off, but I guess it ain't."
- I think he could do it if he really wanted to.
- I wish I could fly!
past participle of can
- I haven't could sleep.
›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer
Something that could happen, or could be the case, under different circumstances
Something that could happen, or could be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.
- When the golf ball is there, the whole self-interference package — the hopes, worries, and fears; the thoughts on how-to and how-not-to; the woulds, the coulds, and the shoulds — is there too.
- Shushona you must learn to rightfully prioritize all the woulds, shoulds and coulds of your life.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for could. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA