could
‘was able to’
Lexical development traced from the Tamil root:
O.E. cuðe ‘known’ < cunnan ‘to be able’ < O.E. cunnan ‘to know’ < Proto-G. kunnjanan ‘be mentally able, have learned’ < kud < gno- < Tamil kaṇ
could
English words derived from Tamil kaṇ connoting 'Know'