Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

taken

/ˈteɪ.kn̩/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.33 in modern English

Syllables: tak-en
IPA: /ˈteɪ.kn̩/

9

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Infatuated; fond of or attracted to.

adj

In a serious romantic relationship.

Informal

verb

past participle of take

Example Sentences

"He was very taken with the girl, I hear."
"I can't ask her out, she's taken."
"No doubt many a journey you have rode and gone, and many a hard daies labour you have taken, and ſharpened perhaps with care and grief[…]"

Etymology

From Middle English taken, takenn, from Old English tacen, *ġetacen, from Old Norse tekinn, from Proto-Germanic *tēkanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *tēkaną (“to take; grasp; touch”). Cognate with Scots takin, tane, Danish tagen, Swedish tagen, Icelandic tekin. Morphologically take + -n.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: taken, tacen, tekinn, *tēkanaz, *tēkaną
Suffix: take

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

ta'en (alternative, Scotland) tane (alternative, Scotland)

Derived Forms

foretaken untaken

Phrases

is this seat taken none taken taken aback

Synonyms

interpreted

Rhymes With

bacon mistaken shaken jamaican awaken forsaken macon retaken waken reawaken aken unshaken

Questions

How do you pronounce taken?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈteɪ.kn̩/.
What does taken mean?: Infatuated; fond of or attracted to.
Where does taken come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce taken

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “taken”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈteɪ.kn̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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