Word Confusion: Gnu vs Knew vs New

Posted August 28, 2014 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
6 July 2023

This particular heterographic confusion — knew vs new — is fairly close in how it’s spelled, well, considering you need to add a k, that is. New is all around us, in context, as a word denoting new this, new that. New ingredients, new products, new this year.

But, you knew that, didn’t you?

What’s new this time around is that gnu . . . is either an antelope or an “animal” of a computer operating system!

I knew that people confused words, but with this proliferation of new everything and anything, I find it difficult to understand how anyone cannot know the difference between these last two words.

Somehow, know has a number of conflicts within homonyms, and you may want to explore other posts that include know or no, including Know versus No, Know How versus Knowhow, and Knows vs Noes vs Nose.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Gnu vs Knew vs New” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

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Gnu	Knew	New
White-Tailed Gnu at Krugersdorp Game Reserve by Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa, is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	If Women Only Knew by Cayuga Pictures / Robertson-Cole is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — The ad for this American film is from page 10 of the 8 May 1921 Film Daily.	New by Neji is his own work under the CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Noun Plural: gnus	Past tense of know Verb ¹; Verb ¹, intransitive & transitive ² Third person present verb: knows Past tense: knew Past participle: known Present participle: knowing	Adjective; Adverb; Noun; Plural noun: news
Either of two stocky, oxlike antelopes of the genus Connochaetes, the silver-gray, white-bearded C. taurinus of the eastern African plain and the black, white-tailed C. gnou of central South Africa [Computer] An operating system and an extensive collection of computer software	Verb: Be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information ¹ Verb, intransitive: Have knowledge or information concerning ¹ Verb, transitive: Have knowledge or information concerning ¹ Be absolutely certain or sure about something Have developed a relationship with someone through meeting and spending time with them Be familiar or friendly with Have a good command of a subject or language Recognize someone or something Be familiar or acquainted with something Have personal experience of an emotion or situation [Usually, be known as] Regard or perceive as having a specified characteristic [Usually, be known as] Give someone or something a particular name or title [Know someone/something from] Be able to distinguish one person or thing from another [Archaic] Have sexual intercourse with someone ²	Adjective: Not existing before Made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time Not previously used or owned Of recent origin or arrival [Of food or drink] Freshly or recently produced [Of vegetables] Dug or harvested early in the season Already existing but seen, experienced, or acquired recently or now for the first time [new to] Unfamiliar or strange to someone [Of a person; new to/at] Inexperienced at or unaccustomed to doing something Different from a recent previous one In addition to another or others already existing [In place names] Discovered or founded later than and named after Just beginning or beginning anew and regarded as better than what went before [Of a person] Reinvigorated or restored Superseding another or others of the same kind, and advanced in method or theory Reviving another or others of the same kind Adverb: Usually in combination with a hyphen Newly [Often used in combination] Anew, afresh Recently Lately Freshly Noun: Something that is new A new object, quality, condition, etc. Plural noun: Have you heard the news? It’s in the news. The news of the election results are out.
Examples:
Recently near extinction, the South African gnu is now protected. “The lads rushed forward, eager to obtain some of the flesh of the gnu” (Kingston). “So that altogether the gnu cannot be considered as a handsome animal!” (Wood). GNU is composed wholly of free software, most of which is licensed under the GNU Project’s own GPL. GNU is a recursive acronym for “GNU’s Not Unix!”	Verb: “Who knew that being a librarian would lead to all this?” (McCauley). “They had met face to face three times and both knew why they were there” (Denson). I knew about the birds. Verb, intransitive: “He speaks to the world that he knew” (After). He knew of our new instructions. She already knew. Verb, transitive: Everybody knew everybody, and this street was a meet-up point. I knew she was going to be late. Oh, yeah, he knew her all right.	Adjective: There are a great number of new crop varieties. This tendency is not new. A secondhand bus cost a fraction of a new one. The neighbors have a new baby. I love new potatoes with my steak. Come see Marty’s new bike. It was a way of living that was new to me I’m quite new to gardening. I have a new assistant. This would be her new home. We’re recruiting new pilots from overseas. New York is both a state and a city. We’re starting a new life. It’s the new South Africa A bottle of pills would make him a new man. I don’t care for this new architecture. Adverb: I love the smell of new-mown hay. The pristine quality of new-fallen snow The valley was green with new-planted crops. Glory in the roses new washed with dew. Noun: A fascinating mix of the old and the new. Ring out the old, ring in the new.
Derivatives:
	Adjective: knowable Adverb: knowingly Noun: ken, knower Verb: ken, known, knowing Verb, modal: can	Adjective: newfound, newer, newest, newly found Adverb: newly Noun: newlywed, news
History of the Word:
Late 18th century from the Khoikhoi and the San, perhaps imitative of the sound made by the animal when alarmed.	Old English cnāwan (earlier gecnāwan) meaning recognize, identify is of Germanic origin and from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin (g)noscere and the Greek gignōskein A Hebraism that has passed into modern languages; compare with the German erkennen and the French connaître.	Before 900 Old English nīwe, nēowe is of Germanic origin. It’s related to the Dutch nieuw and the German neu from an Indo-European root shared by the Sanskrit nava, the Latin novus, and the Greek neos, all meaning new. Middle English newe.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Gnu vs Knew vs New

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

“After Murderer’s Confession in Court, Tearful Mother of Jacob Wetterling Speaks.” CBS News. 6 Sept 2016. Web. 6 July 2023. <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emotional-mother-patty-wetterling-of-11-year-old-jacob-wetterling-speaks-out/>.

Apple Dictionary.com

Cambridge Dictionary: knew

Denson, Bryan. “The Spy’s Kid: Nathan Nicholson Follows His Father, Jim, Into World of Espionage (part 1).” The Oregonian. 22 May 2011. Web. 6 July 2023. <https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2011/05/the_spys_kid_part_1_son_follows_dad_into_dark_world_of_espionage.html>.

Dictionary.com: gnu

Kingston, W.H.G. Hendricks the Hunter. Outlook Verlag, 2020. <https://amzn.to/3qGsthb>.

McCauley, Mary Carole. “New Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden Taking Over Organization in Turmoil.” Baltimore Sun. 14 Sept 2016. Web. 6 July 2023. <https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bs-ae-librarian-of-congress-carla-hayden-20160914-story.html>.

Wikipedia: GNU

Wood, Theodore. The Animal World, A Book of Natural History. New York: The University Society Inc., 2013. <https://amzn.to/3eLKo3g>.

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