keen1
adj.
- chiefly Brit. eager; enthusiastic.
▸
(keen on)
interested in or attracted by.
- (of the edge or point of a blade) sharp.
▸(of a sense or mental faculty) acute or quick.
▸(of the air or wind) cold and biting.
- (of activity or feeling) intense.
- Brit. (of prices) very low; competitive.
Derivative
Etymology
OE cēne ‘wise, brave’, of Gmc origin.
keen2
v.
wail in grief for a dead person.
▸make an eerie wailing sound.
n.
an Irish funeral song accompanied with wailing in lamentation for the dead.
Derivative
Etymology
C19: from Ir. caoinim ‘I wail’.