grok
/grok/, var. /grohk/ [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'] vt. 1. To understand, usually in a global sense. Connotes
intimate and exhaustive knowledge. 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."
