To come to hold what one did not hold. Learning changes the holder, which is what separates it from being told.
Old English leornian (to learn, acquire knowledge), from Proto-Germanic liznojan, related to a root meaning to follow a track or furrow; to come to hold what one did not hold, by following where it leads.
What changes the holder is what separates learning from simply being told — the information is the same either way, but only one leaves a mark.