K - kangaroo
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K.
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K, (kā), the eleventh letter of the English alphabet, is nonvocal consonant. The form and sound of the letter K are from the Latin, which used the letter but little except in the early period of the language. It came into the Latin from the Greek, which received it from a Phœnician source, the ultimate origin probably being Egyptian. Etymologically K is most nearly related to c, g, h (which see).
In many words of one syllable k is used after c, as in crack, check, deck, being necessary to exhibit a correct pronunciation in the derivatives, cracked, checked, decked, cracking; since without it, c, before the vowels e and i, would be sounded like s. Formerly, k was added to c in certain words of Latin origin, as in musick, publick, republick; but now it is omitted.
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See Guide to Pronunciation , §§ 240, 178, 179, 185.
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K2 n. A mountain in Northern Kashmir; it is one of the highest in the world, 28,250 feet high.
Syn. -- Godwin Austen, Dapsang.
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Ka prop. n. (Hinduism) An unknown god; an epithet of Prajapati and Brahma.
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ka n. (Ancient Egyptian Religion) A spiritual aspect of the individual, living within the body during life, and surviving the body after death. It was believed to be one of two spirits inhabiting the body, the other being the ba, which deserts teh body at death.
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Kaaba (kȧābȧ), prop. n. [Ar. ka'bah, lit., a square building, fr. ka'b cube.] The small and nearly cubical stone building, in the court of the Great Mosque at Mecca, toward which all Mohammedans must pray. It contains a sacred black stone, believed by Mohammedans to be one of the precious stones of paradise, and to have been brought to Abraham when he was contructing the Kaaba, by the Angel Gabriel. The Kaaba itself predates Mohammed, having been a pantheon which contained Arab idols, which were destroyed by Mohammed. [Written also caaba, kaabeh and kaabah.]
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Kaama (?), n. (Zoöl.) The hartbeest.
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Kabala (?), n. See .
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Kabassou (?), n. (Zoöl.) See .
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Kabob (?), n. & v. t. See , n. & v. t.
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Kabook (?), n. (min.) A clay ironstone found in Ceylon.
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Kabyle (?), n. [Ar. qabīla.] (Ethnol.) A Berber, as in Algiers or Tunis. See .
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Kadder (?), n. [Cf. .] (Zoöl.) The jackdaw.
{ Kadi (?), Kadiaster (?), } n. A Turkish judge. See .
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Kafal (?), n. (Bot.) The Arabian name of two trees of the genus Balsamodendron, which yield a gum resin and a red aromatic wood.
{ Kaffir (kăffẽr), Kafir (käfẽr), } n. [Ar. kāfir infidel, pagan, fr. kafara to be skeptical in religious matters; -- a name given to certain infidel races by the Mohammedans. Cf. .] 1. (Ethnol.) (a) One of a race which, with the Hottentots and Bushmen, inhabit South Africa. They inhabit the country north of Cape Colony, the name being now specifically applied to the tribes living between Cape Colony and Natal, including the Ponda, Xosa, and Tembu; but the Zulus of Natal are true Kaffirs. (b) One of a race inhabiting Kafiristan in Central Asia. [Spelt also Caffre.]
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2. Any Black African; -- a disparaging and offensive term used by white South Africans. [South Africa]
Syn. -- kaffir, caffer, caffre.
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Coloq. Kaffir corn (Bot.), a Cape Colony name for Indian millet.
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Kaffle (?), n. See .
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Kafilah (?), n. See .
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kafir n. Same as . [South Africa]
Syn. -- kaffir, caffer, caffre.
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Kafka prop. n. Franz Kafka, a writer, b. 1883, d. 1924.
Syn. -- Franz Kafka.
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Kafkaesque prop. a. [fr. Franz Kafka, novelist; especially from his novels such as The Trial.] Frightening, threating, and bewildering in a vague and unexplicable way; -- of situations or regulations. Often used to describe illogical bureaucratic entanglements with no reasonable solution.
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Kaftan (?), n. & v. See .
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Kage (?), n. A chantry chapel inclosed with lattice or screen work.
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Kagu (?), n. (Zoöl.) A singular, crested, grallatorial bird (Rhinochetos jubatus), native of New Caledonia. It is gray above, paler beneath, and the feathers of the wings and tail are handsomely barred with brown, black, and gray. It is allied to the sun bittern.
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Kaguan (?), n. (Zoöl.) The colugo.
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Kahani (?), n. A kind of notary public, or attorney, in the Levant.
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Kahau (?), n. [Native name, from its cry.] (Zoöl.) A long-nosed monkey (Nasalis larvatus, formerly Semnopithecus nasalis), native of Borneo. The general color of the body is bright chestnut, with the under parts, shoulders, and sides of the head, golden yellow, and the top of the head and upper part of the back brown. Called also proboscis monkey. It is now an endangered species. [Written also kaha.]
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Kail (?), n. 1. (Bot.) A kind of headless cabbage. Same as , 1.
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2. Any cabbage, greens, or vegetables. [OE. or Scot.]
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3. A broth made with kail or other vegetables; hence, any broth; also, a dinner. [Scot.]
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Coloq. Kail yard , a kitchen garden. [Scot.]
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Kaimacam (?), n. Same as .
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Kain (?), n. (Scots Law) Poultry, etc., required by the lease to be paid in kind by a tenant to his landlord. Wharton (Law Dict.).
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Kainit (?), n. [Trade name, fr. kainite.] Salts of potassium used in the manufacture of fertilizers.
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Kainite (?), n. [Gr. � recent.] (Min.) A compound salt consisting chiefly of potassium chloride and magnesium sulphate, occurring at the Stassfurt salt mines in Prussian Saxony.
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Kainozoic (?), a. See .
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Kaique (?), n. (Naut.) See .
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Kairine (?), n. (Chem.) A pale buff or white crystalline alkaloid derived from quinoline, and used as an antipyretic in medicine.
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Kairoline (?), n. (Chem.) An organic base obtained from quinoline. It is used as a febrifuge, and resembles kairine.
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Kaiser (?), n. [Gr., fr. L. Caesar. Cf. , and .] The ancient title of emperors of Germany assumed by King William of Prussia when crowned sovereign of the new German empire in 1871.
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Kaka (?), n. [Maori kaka a parrot; -- so named from its note.] (Zoöl.) A New Zealand parrot of the genus Nestor, especially the brown parrot (Nestor meridionalis).
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☞ The mountain kaka, or kea (Nestor notabilis), is remarkable for having recently acquired carnivorous habits. It attacks and kills lambs and pigs, sometimes doing great damage.
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Coloq. Night kaka . (Zoöl.) The kakapo.
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Kakapo (?), n. (Zoöl.) A singular nocturnal parrot (Strigops habroptilus), native of New Zealand. It lives in holes during the day, but is active at night. It resembles an owl in its colors and general appearance. It has large wings, but can fly only a short distance. Called also owl parrot, night parrot, and night kaka.
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Kakaralli (?), n. A kind of wood common in Demerara, durable in salt water, because not subject to the depredations of the sea worm and barnacle.
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Kakistocracy (kăkĭstŏkrȧs�), n. [Gr. kakistos worst + kratei^n to rule.] Government by the worst men.
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Kakoxene (?), n. See .
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Kalahari prop. n. A desert in Southwestern Africa, most of which is located in the country of Botswana.
Syn. -- Kalahari Desert.
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Kalan (?), n. (Zoöl.) The sea otter.
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kalantas n. A Philippine timber tree (Toona calantas or Cedrela calantas) having hard red fragrant wood.
Syn. -- Philippine mahogany, Philippine cedar, Toona calantas, Cedrela calantas.
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Kalasie (?), n. (Zoöl.) A long-tailed monkey of Borneo (Semnopithecus rubicundus). It has a tuft of long hair on the head.
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Kale (?), n. [Scot. kale, kail, cale, colewort, Gael. cael; akin to Ir. cal, W. cawl, Armor. kaol. See .]
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1. (Bot.) A variety of cabbage in which the leaves do not form a head, being nearly the original or wild form of the species. [Written also kail, and cale.]
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2. See , 2.
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Coloq. Sea kale (Bot.), a European cruciferous herb (Crambe maritima), often used as a pot herb; sea cabbage.
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Kaleege (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of several species of large, crested, Asiatic pheasants, belonging to the genus Euplocamus, and allied to the firebacks.
{ Kaleidophon (?), Kaleidophone (?), } [Gr. � beautiful + � appearance, form + � sound.] (Physics.) An instrument invented by Professor Wheatstone, consisting of a reflecting knob at the end of a vibrating rod or thin plate, for making visible, in the motion of a point of light reflected from the knob, the paths or curves corresponding with the musical notes produced by the vibrations.
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Kaleidoscope (?), n. [Gr. � beautiful + e'i^dos form + -scope.] An instrument invented by Sir David Brewster, which contains loose fragments of colored glass, etc., and reflecting surfaces so arranged that changes of position exhibit its contents in an endless variety of beautiful colors and symmetrical forms. It has been much employed in arts of design.
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Shifting like the fragments of colored glass in the kaleidoscope.
G. W. Cable.
{ Kaleidoscopic (?), Kaleidoscopical (?), } a. Of, pertaining to, or formed by, a kaleidoscope; variegated.
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Kalendar (?), n. See .
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Kalendarial (?), a. See .
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Kalender (?), n. See 3d .
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Kalends (?), n. Same as .
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Kali (?), n. [Skr. kali.] (Hind. Cosmog.) The last and worst of the four ages of the world; -- considered to have begun B. C. 3102, and to last 432,000 years.
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Kali, prop. n. [Skr. kālī.] (Hind. Myth.) The black, destroying goddess; -- called also Doorga, Anna Purna.
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Kali (?), n. [Ar. qali. See .] (Bot.) The glasswort (Salsola Kali).
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kalian n. A pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water. See also .
Syn. -- hookah, hubble-bubble, narghile, water pipe.
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Kalif (?), n. See .
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Kaliform (?), a. [Kali + -form.] Formed like kali, or glasswort.
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Kaligenous (?), a. [Kali + -genous. See .] Forming alkalies with oxygen, as some metals.
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Kalium (?), n. [NL. See .] (Chem.) Potassium; -- so called by the German chemists.
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Kalki (?), n. [Skr.] The name of Vishnu in his tenth and last avatar. Whitworth.
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Kalmia (?), n. [NL. Named in honor of Peter Kalm, a Swedish botanist.] (Bot.) A genus of North American shrubs with poisonous evergreen foliage and corymbs of showy flowers. Called also mountain laurel, ivy bush, lamb kill, calico bush, etc.
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Kalmuck (?), n. 1. pl. (Ethnol.) See .
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2. A kind of shaggy cloth, resembling bearskin.
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3. A coarse, dyed, cotton cloth, made in Prussia.
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Kalong (?), n. (Zoöl.) A fruit bat, esp. the Indian edible fruit bat (Pteropus edulis).
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Kaloyer (?), n. See .
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Kalpa (?), n. [Skr.] (Hind. Myth.) One of the Brahmanic eons, a period of 4,320,000,000 years. At the end of each Kalpa the world is annihilated.
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Kalsomine (?), n. & v. t. Same as .
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Kam (?), a. [From Celtic; cf. Gael., Ir., & W. cam. Cf. , n.] Crooked; awry. [Obs.] “This is clean kam.” Shak.
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Kama (kämä), n. [Skr. kāma love, the god of love.] 1. The Hindu Cupid. He is represented as a beautiful youth, with a bow of sugar cane or flowers.
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2. Desire; animal passion; -- supposed to create the Coloq. kama rupa (r�pȧ) [Skr. rūpa shape, image], a kind of simulacrum or astral likeness of a man which exists after his death in an invisible plane of being, called Coloq. kama loca (lōkȧ) [Skr. lōka space, world], until the impulses which created it are exhausted and it finally fades away.
[Webster Suppl.]
Kamala (?), n. (Bot.) The red dusty hairs of the capsules of an East Indian tree (Mallotus Philippinensis) used for dyeing silk. It is violently emetic, and is used in the treatment of tapeworm. [Written also kameela.]
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Kame (?), n. A low ridge. [Scot.] See .
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Kamet prop. n. A mountain in India and Tibet, 25,447 feet high. [proper name]
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Kami (?), n. pl. [Japanese, god.] A title given to the celestial gods of the first mythical dynasty of Japan and extended to the demigods of the second dynasty, and then to the long line of spiritual princes still represented by the mikado.
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Kamichi (?), n. (Zoöl.) A curious South American bird (Anhima or Palamedea cornuta), often domesticated by the natives and kept with poultry, which it defends against birds of prey. It has a long, slender, hornlike ornament on its head, and two sharp spurs on each wing. Although its beak, feet, and legs resemble those of gallinaceous birds, it is related in anatomical characters to the ducks and geese (Anseres). Called also horned screamer. The name is sometimes applied also to the chaja. See , and .
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Kamptulicon (?), n. [Gr. � to bend + � material, fr. � wood, matter.] A kind of elastic floor cloth, made of India rubber, gutta-percha, linseed oil, and powdered cork.
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Kampylite (?), n. [Gr. � bent, curved, fr. � to bend.] (Min.) A variety of mimetite or arseniate of lead in hexagonal prisms of a fine orange yellow. [Written also campylite.]
{ Kamsin, Khamsin } (?), n. [Ar. khamsīn, fr. khamsūn, oblique case khamsīn, fifty; -- so called because it blows for about fifty days, from April till June.] A hot southwesterly wind in Egypt, coming from the Sahara. [Written also Khamseen.]
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Kamtschadales (?), n. pl. [from the older spelling Kamtschatka for Kamchatka.] (Ethnol.) An aboriginal tribe inhabiting the southern part of the Kamchatka peninsula; called also Kamchadals and Itelmen.
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Kan (?), v. t. To know; to ken. [Obs.] See .
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Kan (?), n. See .
{ Kanacka (?), Kanaka (?), } n. [Native name, prop., a man.] A native of the Sandwich Islands.
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Kanawha prop. n. The Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River.
Syn. -- Kanawha River.
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kanchil (?), n. [Malay canchīl.] (Zoöl.) A small chevrotain of the genus Tragulus, esp. Tragulus pygmæus, or Tragulus kanchil, inhabiting Java, Sumatra, and adjacent islands; a deerlet. It is noted for its agility and cunning.
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Kanchanjanga prop. n. same as .
Syn. -- Kanchenjunga, Kinchinjunga.
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Kanchenjunga prop. n. A mountain in India and Nepal, 28,146 feet high. [proper name]
Syn. -- Kanchanjanga, Kinchinjunga.
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kand (?), n. (Mining) Fluor spar; -- so called by Cornish miners.
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kangaroo (?), n. [Said to be the native name.] (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of jumping marsupials of the family Macropodidæ. They inhabit Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands, They have long and strong hind legs and a large tail, while the fore legs are comparatively short and feeble. The giant kangaroo (Macropus major) is the largest species, sometimes becoming twelve or fourteen feet in total length. The tree kangaroos, belonging to the genus Dendrolagus, live in trees; the rock kangaroos, of the genus Petrogale, inhabit rocky situations; and the brush kangaroos, of the genus Halmaturus, inhabit wooded districts. See .
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