/grok/, /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")
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."
(1995-01-31)