A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

khan --- c.1400, from Turk., lit. "lord, prince," contraction of khaqan "ruler, sovereign." Known in Europe since 13c., cf. L. chanis, Gk. kanes, O.Fr. chan.

khedive --- Turkish viceroy of Egypt, 1867, from Fr. khédive, from Turk. khidiv, from Pers. khidiw "prince," derivative of khuda "master, prince," from O.Pers. khvadata- "lord," from compound *khvat-data-, lit. "created from oneself," from khvat- (from PIE *swe-tos "from oneself," ablative of base *s(w)e-; see idiom) + data- "created."

kibbutz --- Israeli collective settlement, 1931, from mod. Heb. qibbus "gathering," from Heb. "a gathering together," from root of qibbes "he gathered together." Plural is kibbutzim.

kibitz --- 1927, from Yiddish kibitsen "to offer gratuitous advice as an outsider," from Ger. kiebitzen "to look on at cards, to kibitz," originally in thieves' cant "to visit," from Kiebitz, name of a shore bird (European pewit, lapwing) with a folk reputation as a meddler, from M.H.G. gibitz "pewit," imitative of its cry. Young lapwings are proverbially precocious and active, and were said to run around with half-shells still on their heads soon after hatching.

kibosh --- 1836, kye-bosk, in slang phrase put the kibosh on, of unknown origin, despite intense speculation. Looks Yiddish, but origin in early 19c. English slang seems to argue against this. One candidate is Ir. caip bháis, caipín báis "cap of death," sometimes said to be the black cap a judge would don when pronouncing a death sentence, but in other sources identified as a gruesome method of execution "employed by Brit. forces against 1798 insurgents" [Bernard Share, "Slanguage, A Dictionary of Irish Slang"]. Or it may somehow be connected with Turkish bosh (see bosh).

kick (v.) --- c.1380, "to strike out with the foot" (earliest in biblical phrase now usually rendered as kick against the pricks), of uncertain origin, perhaps from O.N. kikna "bend backwards, sink at the knees." Fig. sense of "complain, protest, rebel against" (1388) probably is from the Bible verse. Slang sense of "die" is attested from 1725 (kick the wind was slang for "be hanged," 1598; see also bucket). Meaning "to end one's drug habit" is from 1936. To kick oneself in self-reproach is from 1891. The noun is first recorded 1530. Meaning "recoil (of a gun) when fired" is from 1826. Meaning "surge or fit of pleasure" (often as kicks) is from 1941; originally lit., "stimulation from liquor or drugs" (1844). The kick "the fashion" is c.1700. Kick-off is from 1857 as the first kick in a football match; fig. sense of "start, beginning event" is from 1875. Kickback "illegal or improper payment" is from 1934. Kickboxing first recorded 1971.

kicksie-wicksie --- a fanciful word for "wife" in Shakespeare ("All's Well," II iii.297), 1601, apparently a perversion of kickshaw, late 16c. for "a fancy dish in cookery" (especially a non-native one), from pronunciation of Fr. quelque chose "something."

kid (n.) --- c.1200, "the young of a goat," from O.N. kið "young goat," from P.Gmc. *kiðjom (cf. Ger. kitz). Extended meaning of "child" first recorded as slang 1599, established in informal usage by 1840s. Kiddo first recorded 1896. Applied to skillful young thieves and pugilists since at least 1812. Kid stuff "something easy" is from 1923. Kid glove "a glove made of kidskin leather" is from 1687; sense of "characterized by wearing kid gloves," therefore "dainty, delicate" is from 1856.

kid (v.) --- tease playfully (1839), earlier, in thieves' cant, "to coax, wheedle, hoax" (1811), from kid (n.), via notion of "treat as a child, make a kid of."

kidnap --- 1673, compound of kid (n.) "child" and nap "snatch away," variant of nab; originally "stealing children to provide servants and laborers in the American colonies."

kidney --- c.1325, of unknown origin, originally kidenere, perhaps a compound of O.E. cwið "womb" + ey "egg," in reference to the shape of the organ. Fig. sense of "temperament" is from 1555. Kidney bean is from 1548.

kielbasa --- 1953, from Pol. kielbasa "sausage" (Rus. kolbasa, SCr. kobasica); perhaps from Turk. kulbasti, "grilled cutlet," lit. "pressed on the ashes." Or perhaps, via Jewish butchers, from Heb. kolbasar "all kinds of meat."

kike --- derogatory slang for "Jew," 1904, perhaps originating among Ger.-American Jews in reference to newcomers from Eastern Europe, whose names ended in -ki or -ky. Philip Cowen, first editor of "The American Hebrew," suggests a source in Yiddish kikel "circle." According to him, Jewish immigrants, ignorant of writing with the Latin alphabet, signed their entry forms with a circle, eschewing the "X" as a sign of Christianity. Ellis Island immigration inspectors began calling such people kikels, and the term shortened as it passed into general use.

kil --- first element in many Celtic place names, lit. "cell (of a hermit), church, burial place," from Gael. and Ir. -cil, from cill, gradational variant of ceall "cell, church, burial place," from L. cella (see cell).

Kilimanjaro --- mountain in Africa, from Swahili, lit. "mountain of the god of cold," from kilima "mountain" + njaro "god of cold."

Kilkenny --- county in Leinster, Ireland. The county is named for its town, from Ir. Cill Chainnigh "Church of (St.) Kenneth." The story of the Kilkenny cats, a pair of which fought until only their tails were left, is attested from 1822.

kill (n.) --- stream, 1639, Amer.Eng., from Du. kil, from M.Du. kille "riverbed," especially in place names (e.g. Schuylkill). A common Gmc. word, the O.N. form, kill, meant "bay, gulf" and gave its name to Kiel Fjord on the German Baltic coast and thence to Kiel, the port city founded there in 1240.

kill (v.) --- c.1205, "to strike, hit, beat, knock." Sense of "to deprive of life" first recorded c.1330. Perhaps from an unrecorded variant of O.E. cwellan "to kill" (see quell), but the earliest sense suggests otherwise. The noun meaning "an act of killing (an animal)" is from 1852. Lawn tennis serve sense is from 1903. The kill "the knockout" is boxing jargon, 1950. Killer in slang sense of "impressive person or thing" first recorded 1937; as an adj., 1979. Killjoy is first recorded 1776; formerly used with other stems (cf. kill-courtesy "boorish person," kill-cow "bully, big man," etc.). Sense in to kill time is from 1728. Killer whale is from 1725. Killing "large profit" is 1888, Amer.Eng. slang. Kill-devil, colloquial for "rum," especially if new or of bad quality, is from 1639.

killdeer --- 1731, Amer.Eng., species of North American ring-plover, the name imitative of its cry.

kiln --- O.E. cyln, from L. culina "kitchen, cooking stove," unexplained variant of coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)). O.N. kylna, Welsh cilin probably are from Eng.

kilo --- 1870, shortening of kilogram. The prefix meaning "one thousand" was introduced in Fr. 1795, when the metric system was officially adopted there, from Gk. khilioi "thousand," of unknown origin. Slang shortening key (in drug trafficking) is attested from 1968.

Kilroy --- U.S. military graffito character dates to 1945 and is said to be either Sgt. Francis J. Kilroy Jr., U.S. Army Air Transport, whose friend or friends began writing his name everywhere as a prank; or war materiéls inspector James J. Kilroy of Quincy, Mass., who wrote "Kilroy was here" on everything he checked.

kilt --- plaited tartan skirt, c.1730, from M.E. verb kilten "to tuck up" (c.1340), from a Scand. source (cf. Dan. kilte op "to tuck up;" O.N. kilting "shirt," kjalta "fold made by gathering up to the knees").

kilter --- in out of kilter (1628) variant of Eng. dial. kelter (1606) "good condition, order," of unknown origin.

kimono --- 1637, from Japanese kimono, lit. "a thing put on," from ki "wear" + mono "thing."

-kin --- dim. suffix, first attested c.1250 in proper names adopted from Flanders and Holland, probably from M.Du. -kin, properly a double-dim., from -k + -in. Equivalent to Ger. -chen.

kin --- O.E. cyn "family, race, kind, nature," from P.Gmc. *kunjan (cf. O.N. kyn, O.H.G. chunni, Goth. kuni "family, race," O.N. kundr "son," Ger. kind "child"), from PIE *gen- "to produce" (see genus). Kinship is a modern word, first attested 1833 in writing of Mrs. Browning.

kind (adj.) --- friendly, from O.E. gecynde "natural, native, innate," originally "with the feeling of relatives for each other," from P.Gmc. *gakundiz, from *kunjan (see kin), with collective prefix *ga- and abstract suffix *-iz. Sense development from "with natural feelings," to "well-disposed" (c.1300), "benign, compassionate" (1297). Kindly (adj.) is O.E. gecyndelic. Kind-hearted is from 1535; kindness is from c.1290.

kind (n.) --- class, sort, variety, from O.E. gecynd "kind, nature, race," related to cynn "family" (see kin), from P.Gmc. *gakundiz (see kind (adj.)). Ælfric's rendition of "the Book of Genesis" into O.E. came out gecyndboc. The prefix disappeared 1150-1250. No exact cognates beyond Eng., but it corresponds to adj. endings such as Goth -kunds, O.H.G. -kund. Also as a suffix (mankind, etc.). Other earlier, now obs., senses in Eng. included "character, quality derived from birth" and "manner or way natural or proper to anyone." Use in phrase a kind of (1591) led to colloquial extension as adv. (1804) in phrases such as kind of stupid ("a kind of stupid (person)").

kindergarten --- 1852, from Ger., lit. "children's garden," from Kinder "children" (pl. of Kind "child") + Garten "garden" (see yard (1)). Coined 1840 by Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852) in ref. to his method of developing intelligence in young children, the first one in Eng. established 1850 by Johannes Ronge, Ger. Catholic priest. Taken into Eng. untranslated, where other nations that borrowed the institution nativized the name (cf. Dan. börnehave, Modern Heb. gan yeladim, lit. "garden of children").

kindle --- c.1200, from O.N. kynda "to kindle," of uncertain origin, + freq. suffix -le. Kindling "material for lighting fire" is from 1513.

kindred --- c.1200, kinraden, compound of kin (q.v.) + -rede, from O.E. ræden "condition, rule," related to rædan "to advise, rule" (see read). With intrusive -d- (17c.) probably for phonetic reasons (cf. thunder) but perhaps encouraged by kind (n.).

kine --- archaic plural of "cow," actually a double plural (cf. children) or a gen. pl. of M.E. kye "cows," from O.E. cy, pl. of cu "cow."

kinesthetic --- 1880, coined by British neurologist Henry Charlton Bastian (1837-1915) from Gk. kinein "to move" + aisthesis "sensation."

kinetic --- 1864, from Gk. kinetikos "moving, putting in motion," from kinetos "moved," verbal adj. of kinein "to move."

king --- O.E. cyning, from P.Gmc. *kuninggaz (cf. Du. koning, O.H.G. kuning, O.N. konungr, Dan. konge, Ger. könig). Possibly related to O.E. cynn "family, race" (see kin), making a king originally a "leader of the people;" or from a related root suggesting "noble birth," making a king originally "one who descended from noble birth." The sociological and ideological implications make this a topic of much debate. Finnish kuningas "king," O.C.S. kunegu "prince" (Rus. knyaz, Boh. knez), Lith. kunigas "clergyman" are loans from Gmc. In O.E., used for names of chiefs of Anglian and Saxon tribes or clans, then of the states they founded. Also extended to British and Danish chiefs they fought. The chess piece so called from 1411; the playing card from 1563; use in checkers/draughts first recorded 1820. Applied in nature to species deemed remarkably big or dominant (e.g. king crab, 1698),

king's evil --- scrofula, 1387, translates M.L. regius morbus; so called because the kings of England and France claimed to heal it by their touch. In England, the custom dates from Edward the Confessor and was continued through the Stuarts (Charles II touched 90,798 sufferers) but was ended by the Hanoverians (1714).

kink --- 1678, nautical term, from Du. kink "twist in a rope" (also found in Fr. and Swed.), probably related to O.N. kika "to bend at the knee" (see kick). Figurative sense of "odd notion, mental twist" first recorded in Amer.Eng., 1803, in writings of Thomas Jefferson; kinky "sexually perverted" first recorded 1959, earlier it was used in the sense of "eccentric" (1889).

kiosk --- 1625, "open pavilion," from Fr. kiosque, from Turk. koshk "pavilion, palace," from Pers. kushk "palace, portico." Modern sense influenced by Brit. telephone kiosk (1928).

kipper --- O.E. cypera "male salmon," perhaps related to coper "reddish-brown metal" (see copper), on resemblance of color. Another theory connects it to kip, name for the sharp, hooked lower jaw of the male salmon in breeding season, from M.E. kippen "to snatch, tug, pull." The modern word usually refers to kippered herring, from a verb meaning "to cure a fish by cleaning, salting, and spicing it" (1326). The theory is that this was originally done to salmon, hence the name.

kir --- white wine and crème de cassis, 1966 (popular in U.S. 1980s), from Canon Felix Kir (1876-1968), mayor of Dijon, who is said to have invented the recipe.

Kiribati --- island nation in the Pacific, formerly Gilbert Islands and named for Capt. Thomas Gilbert, who arrived there 1788 after helping transport the first shipload of convicts to Australia. At independence in 1979 it took the current name, which represents the local pronunciation of Gilbert. Christmas Island, named for the date it was discovered by Europeans, is in the chain and now goes by Kiritimati, likewise a local pronunciation of the English name.

kirk --- c.1200, northern England and Scot. dial. form of church, from O.N. kirkja "church," from O.E. cirice (see church).

kirschwasser --- liquor distilled from fermented cherry juice, 1819, from Ger., lit. "cherry-water;" first element from M.H.G. kirse, from O.H.G. kirsa, from V.L. *ceresia, from L.L. cerasium "cherry" (see cherry).

kirtle --- a man's tunic; a woman's skirt, O.E. cyrtel, related to O.N. kyrtill "tunic," probably both from L. curtus "short" + dim. suffix -el.

kismet --- 1834, from Turk. qismet, from Ar. qismah, qismat "portion, lot, fate," from root of qasama "he divided."

kiss (v.) --- O.E. cyssan "to kiss," from P.Gmc. *kussijanan (cf. O.S. kussian, O.N. kyssa, O.Fris. kessa, Ger. küssen), from *kuss-, probably ultimately imitative of the sound. The O.E. noun was coss, which became M.E. cuss, but this yielded to kiss, from the verb. For vowel evolution, see bury. There appears to be no common I.E. root word for "kiss," though suggestions of a common ku- sound may be found in the Gmc. root and Gk. kynein "to kiss," Hittite kuwash-anzi "they kiss," Skt. cumbati "he kisses."

kit (1) --- round wooden tub, 1275, probably from M.Du. kitte "jug, tankard, wooden container," of unknown origin. Meaning "collection of personal effects," especially for traveling (originally in ref. to a soldier), is from 1785; that of "outfit of tools for a workman" is from 1851. Kit and caboodle is 1861, from boodle "lot, collection," perhaps from Du. boedel "property."

kit (2) --- small fiddle used by dancing teachers, 1519, probably a shortening of O.E. cythere, from L. cithara, from Gk. kithara (see guitar).

kit-cat --- club founded by Whig politicians in London, 1703; so called from Christopher ("Kit") Catling, keeper of the tavern on Shire Lane, near Temple Bar, in which the club first met. As a designation for "a size of portrait less than half length" (1754), supposedly because the dining room in which portraits of club members hung was too low for half-length portraits.

kitchen --- O.E. cycene, from W.Gmc. *kocina (cf. M.Du. cökene, O.H.G. chuhhina, Ger. Küche, Dan. kjøkken), probably borrowed from V.L. *cocina (cf. Fr. cuisine, Sp. cocina), variant of L. coquina "kitchen," from fem. of coquinus "of cooks," from coquus "cook," from coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)). Kitchen cabinet "informal but powerful set of advisors" is Amer.Eng. slang, 1832, originally in ref. to administration of President Andrew Jackson. Kitchen midden (1863) in archaeology translates Dan. kjøkken mødding. The New York City neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen is first attested 1894. Kitchenette is from 1910, Amer.Eng. Phrase everything but the kitchen sink is from World War II armed forces slang, in ref. to intense bombardment.

kite --- bird of prey (Milvus ictinus), O.E. cyta "kind of hawk," probably imitative of its cries (cf. ciegan "to call," Ger. Kauz "screech owl"). The toy kite first so-called 1664, from its way of hovering in the air like a bird. Meaning "write a fictitious check" (1839, Amer.Eng.) is from 1805 phrase fly a kite "raise money by issuing commercial paper on nonexistent funds." However, the dismissive invitation to go fly a kite is said to be a ref. to the bird, reflecting the contempt of it as a scavenger and eater of garbage.

kith --- O.E. cyðð "native country, home," from cuð "known," pp. of cunnan "to know" (see can (v.)). The alliterative phrase kith and kin (1377) originally meant "country and kinsmen."

kitsch --- 1926, from Ger., lit. "gaudy, trash," from dial. kitschen "to smear."

kitten --- 1377, probably from an Anglo-Fr. variant of O.Fr. chitoun (O.N.Fr. caton) "little cat," from chat "cat," from L.L. cattus (see cat). Applied playfully to a young girl, a sweetheart, from 1870.

kitty --- 1719, variant of kitten, perhaps infl. by kitty "girl, young woman" (c.1500), originally a pet form of Catherine. The sense of "pool of money in a card game" first recorded 1887, probably from kit, in a sense of "collection of necessary supplies" (1833; see kit (1)); but perhaps rather from northern slang kitty "prison, jail, lock-up" (1825), of uncertain origin. Kitty Hawk, N.C., is apparently a mangling of a native Algonquian name; it also has been written as Chicahauk.

Kiwanis --- businessmen's and professionals' society, formed in Detroit, 1915, the name is of obscure meaning.

kiwi --- type of flightless bird, 1835, from Maori kiwi, of imitative origin. As slang for "a New Zealander," it is attested from 1918. The kiwi fruit (Actinia chinesis), was originally imported to the U.S. from China (c.1966) and is known in New Zealand as Chinese gooseberry (1925).

klatsch --- 1953, from Ger., "gossip," which is said in Ger. sources to be onomatopoeic (cf. klatschen "clap hands," klatsch "a single clap of the hands").

klaxon --- loud warning horn, 1910, originally of cars, said to have been named for the company that made them, probably based on Gk. klazein "to roar," cognate with L. clangere "to resound."

Kleagle --- title of an officer in the KKK, 1924, from Klan + eagle.

Kleenex --- 1925, proprietary name, reg. by Cellucotton Products Company, Neenah, Wisconsin, U.S.; later Kimberly-Clark Corp. An arbitrary alteration of clean + brand-name suffix -ex.

kleptomania --- 1830, formed from Gk. kleptes "thief" (from kleptein "to steal, act secretly" from PIE base *klep- "to steal," extention of base *kel- "to cover, conceal;" cf. L. clepere "to steal, listen secretly to," O.Pruss. au-klipts "hidden," O.C.S. poklopu "cover, wrapping," Goth. hlifan "to steal," hliftus "thief") + mania "madness." Shortened form klepto for kleptomaniac is attested from 1958. Kleptocracy "rule by a class of thieves" is first attested 1819, in ref. to Spain.

klezmer --- late 19c. (plural klezmorim); originally, "an itinerant East European Jewish professional musician," from Heb. kley zemer, lit. "vessels of song," thus "musical instruments."

klieg --- kind of arc lamp used as a studio light, 1925, from U.S. engineers, brothers Anton and John Kliegl, who invented it.

Klondike --- tributary of the Yukon River in northwestern Canada, from Kutchin tron-duik "hammer river." Scene of a gold rush after 1896.

klutz --- 1965 (implied in klutzy), Amer.Eng., from Yiddish klots "clumsy person, blockhead," lit. "block, lump," from M.H.G. klotz "lump, ball."

kn- --- Gmc. consonant cluster, still evident in most sister languages but in Eng. it has been reduced to n- in standard pronunciation since before 1750, and for about a century before that it had been pronounced hn-, dn-, tn-. It was fully voiced in O.E. and M.E.

knack --- 1369, "deception, trick, device," of uncertain origin, probably from a Low Ger. word meaning "a sharp sounding blow" (cf. M.E. knak, c.1380; Ger. knacken "to crack"), of imitative origin. Sense of "special skill" is first recorded 1581, if this is in fact the same word.

knapsack --- 1603, from Low Ger. Knapsack (Du. knapzak), probably from knappen "to eat" lit. "to crack, snap" + Sack "bag."

knave --- O.E. cnafa "boy, male servant," common Gmc. (cf. O.H.G. knabo "boy, youth, servant," Ger. knabe "boy, lad," also probably related to O.E. cnapa "boy, youth, servant," O.N. knapi "servant boy," Du. knaap "a youth, servant," M.H.G. knappe "a young squire," Ger. Knappe "squire, shield-bearer"). The original meaning may have been "stick, piece of wood." Sense of "rogue, rascal" first recorded c.1205. In playing cards, "the jack," 1568.

knead --- O.E. cnedan "to knead," from P.Gmc. *knedanan (cf. O.S. knedan, M.Du. cneden, Ger. kneten, O.N. knoða "to knead"). Originally a strong verb (past tense cnæd, pp. cneden).

knee --- O.E. cneo, cneow "knee," from P.Gmc. *knewan (cf. O.N. kne, O.Fris. kni, M.Du. cnie, O.H.G. kniu), from PIE base *g(e)neu- (cf. Skt. janu, Avestan znum, Hittite genu "knee;" Gk. gony "knee," gonia "corner, angle;" L. genu "knee"). The verb meaning "to strike with the knee" is first recorded 1896. Phrase knee-high to a grasshopper first recorded 1851 (earliest form was knee-high to a toad, 1814). Knee-deep is from 1535. Knee-jerk (the patellar reflex) is a neurological phenomenon discovered and named 1876; the figurative use appeared soon after the phrase was coined. Knee-slapper "funny joke" is from 1966.

kneel --- O.E. cneowlian, from cneow (see knee); cf. Goth. knussjan, Gk. gnyx "with bent knee." Past tense knelt is a modern formation (19c.) on analogy of feel/felt, etc.

knell (n.) --- O.E. cnyll "sound made by a bell when struck or rung slowly," of imitative origin. Cf. M.H.G. erknellen "to resound," O.E. cnyllan. The Welsh cnull "death-bell" appears to be a borrowing from Eng. For vowel evolution, see bury.

Knesset --- Israeli parliament, 1949, from Mishnaic Heb. keneseth "gathering, assembly," from stem of Heb. kanas "he gathered, assembled, collected."

knickerbocker --- descendant of Du. settler of New York, 1831, from Diedrich Knickerbocker, the name under which Washington Irving published his popular "History of New York" (1809). The pen-name was borrowed from Irving's friend Herman Knickerbocker, and lit. means "toy marble-baker."

knickers --- short, loose-fitting undergarment, now usually for women, 1881, shortening of knickerbockers (1859), said to be so called for their resemblance to those of Dutchmen in Cruikshank's illustrations from Washington Irving's "History of New York" (see knickerbocker).

knick-knack --- 1580, reduplication of knack "stratagem, trick" (q.v.).

knife --- late O.E. cnif, from O.N. knifr, from P.Gmc. *knibaz (cf. M.L.G. knif, M.Du. cnijf, Ger. kneip), of uncertain origin. The verb is first attested 1865, from the noun. Fr. canif "penknife" (1441) is borrowed from M.E. or O.N.

knight --- O.E. cniht "boy, youth, servant," common W.Gmc. (cf. O.Fris. kniucht, Du. knecht, M.H.G. kneht "boy, youth, lad," Ger. Knecht "servant, bondsman, vassal"), of unknown origin. Meaning "military follower of a king or other superior" is from c.1100. Began to be used in a specific military sense in Hundred Years War, and gradually rose in importance through M.E. period until it became a rank in the nobility 16c. The verb meaning "to make a knight of (someone)" is from c.1300. Knighthood is O.E. cnihthad "the period between childhood and manhood;" sense of "rank or dignity of a knight" is from c.1300. The chess piece so called from c.1440. Knight in shining armor is from 1965. Knights of Columbus, society of Catholic men, founded 1882 in New Haven; Knights of Labor, trade union association, founded in Philadelphia, 1869; Knights of Pythias, secret order, founded in Washington, 1864.