grok

[common; from the novel Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein, where it is a Martian word meaning literally `to drink' and metaphorically `to be one with'] The emphatic form is grok in fullness.

1. To understand. Connotes intimate and exhaustive knowledge. When you claim to `grok' some knowledge or technique, you are asserting that you have not merely learned it in a detached instrumental way but that it has become part of you, part of your identity. For example, to say that you "know" {LISP} is simply to assert that you can code in it if necessary -- but to say you "grok" LISP is to claim that you have deeply entered the world-view and spirit of the language, with the implication that it has transformed your view of programming. Contrast {zen}, which is similar supernal understanding experienced as a single brief flash. See also {glark}.
2. Used of programs, may connote merely sufficient understanding. "Almost all C compilers grok the void type these days."

---