grok

[grok] /grÉ’k/
verb (used with object)
1.
to understand thoroughly and intuitively.
verb (used without object)
2.
to communicate sympathetically.
Origin
coined by Robert A. Heinlein in the science-fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)
Word Origin and History for groks

grok

v.

"to understand empathically," 1961, arbitrary formation by U.S. science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) in his book "Stranger in a Strange Land." In popular use 1960s; perhaps obsolete now except in internet technology circles.

Slang definitions & phrases for groks

grok

verb
  1. To communicate sympathetically: all rapping and grokking over the sound it made/ All the Romans grokked like Greeks (1961+ Counterculture & students)
  2. (also grok on) To get into exquisite sympathy with: She met him at an acid-rock ball and she grokked him/ The Handbook of Highway Engineering, they totally grokked on it (1961+ Counterculture & students)
  3. To understand: You've come to grok that Cronenberg's narrative is merely the pretense for his imagery (1980s+ Computer)

[coined by Robert A Heinlein as a Martian word in the 1961 science-fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land]