Etymology dictionary
Kings — knell (n.)
Kings
biblical book (in the Christian bible two books), late 14c., so called because it tells the histories of the kings of Judah and Israel (except Samuel's and most of David's).
kingdom (n.)
Old English cyningdom; see king (n.) + -dom. Cognate with Old Saxon kuningdom, Middle Dutch koninghdom, Old Norse konungdomr. The usual Old English word was cynedom; Middle English also had kingrick (for second element, see the first element in Reichstag). Meaning "one of the realms of nature" is from 1690s.
Kingdom-come (n.) "the next world, the hereafter" (1785), originally slang, is from the Lord's Prayer, where it is an archaic simple present subjunctive ("may Thy kingdom come") in reference to the spiritual reign of God or Christ.
kingfisher (n.)
type of colorful European diving bird, mid-15c., originally king's fisher, for obscure reasons; see king + fisher.
kingfish (n.)
1750, a name given to various types of fish deemed exceptionally large or tasty; see king (adj.) + fish (n.). From 1933 as the nickname of U.S. politician Huey Long (1893-1935) of Louisiana.
King Kong
U.S. film released 1933.
kingly (adj.)
late 14c., kyngly; see king (n.) + -ly (1). Related: Kingliness. Similar formation in German königlich, Old Frisian kenenglik, Danish kongelig.
kingmaker (n.)
also king-maker, 1590s, originally in reference to Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick (d. 1471), credited with elevating Edward IV and after restoring Henry VI.
kingpin (n.)
also king-pin, 1801 as the name of the large pin in the game of kayles (similar to bowls except a club or stick was thrown instead of a ball; see "Games, Gaming and Gamesters' Laws," Frederick Brandt, London, 1871), from king with a sense of "chief" + pin (n.).
The modern use is mainly figurative and is perhaps from the word's use as synonym for king-bolt (itself from 1825), a large, thick, heavy bolt used in a machinery to couple large parts, but if this is the origin, the figurative use is attested earlier (1867) than the literal (1914).
king's evil (n.)
"scrofula," late 14c.; it translates Medieval Latin regius morbus. The name came about because the kings of England and France claimed and were reputed to be able to cure 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).
kingship (n.)
early 14c., from king (n.) + -ship. Old English had cynescipe.
kink (n.)
1670s, "knot-like contraction or short twist in a rope, thread, hair, etc., originally a nautical term, from Dutch kink "twist in a rope" (also found in French and Swedish), which is probably related to Old Norse kikna "to bend backwards, sink at the knees" as if under a burden" (see kick (v.)). Figurative sense of "odd notion, mental twist, whim" first recorded in American English, 1803, in writings of Thomas Jefferson; specifically "a sexual perversion, fetish, paraphilia" is by 1973 (by 1965 as "sexually abnormal person").
kink (v.)
1690s (intransitive), 1800 (transitive), from kink (n.). Related: Kinked; kinking.
kinkajou (n.)
Central American mammal, 1796, from French (1670s), from an Algonquian word for the wolverine; the North American word was erroneously transferred by Buffon to the tropical animal.
kinky (adj.)
1844, "full of kinks, twisted, curly," from kink (n.) + -y (2). Meaning "odd, eccentric, crotchety" is from 1859; that of "sexually perverted" is from 1959. Related: Kinkiness.
kino-
before vowels, kin-, word-forming element in use from late 19c. and meaning "motion," from Greek kino-, from kinein "to move" (from PIE root *keie- "to set in motion").
kinship (n.)
by 1764, from kin + -ship. Relationship covers the same sense but is a hybrid.
kinsman (n.)
"man of the same race or family; one related by blood," c. 1200, kenesmen, from late Old English cynnes mannum; see kin + man. Kinswoman is recorded from c. 1400. "The word is commonly and properly used only of a relative by blood, in contradistinction to relatives by marriage, who are properly termed affines" [Century Dictionary, 1902].
kiosk (n.)
1620s, "kind of open pavilion" (made of light wood, etc., often supported by pillars), from French kiosque (17c.), which is (along with German and Polish kiosk) from Turkish koshk, kiöshk "pavilion, summer house," from Persian kushk "palace, villa; pavilion, portico." They were introduced in Western Europe 17c. as ornaments in gardens and parks. Later of street newsstands (1865), on some resemblance of shape, a sense perhaps originally in French. Modern sense has been influenced by British telephone kiosk (1928).
Kiowa
native people of the U.S. southern Plains, 1810, earlier in Spanish records as Caigua, from a word in the people's language (Kiowa-Tanoan). Bright offers no etymology for it.
Kiplingesque (adj.)
1894, from English author Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) + -esque.
kipper (n.)
Old English cypera "male salmon," perhaps related to coper "reddish-brown metal" (see copper (n.1)), on resemblance of color. Another theory connects it to kip (n.) "sharp, hooked lower jaw of the male salmon in breeding season," which is from Middle English kippen "to snatch, tug, pull," but OED doubts this.
The modern noun usually is a shortening of kippered herring, from a verb meaning "to cure a fish by cleaning, salting, and spicing it" (early 14c.). The earliest attested uses of the verb are to preparing salmon, hence the verb. The modern noun kipper is recorded from 1773 of salmon, 1863 of herring.
kir (n.)
"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 (n.)
"church,"c. 1200, surviving as a northern England and Scottish dialectal word, from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse kirkja "church" (see church (n.)). Hence kirkland "church land" (mid-15c.).
kirsch-wasser (n.)
also kirschwasser, "liquor distilled from fermented cherry juice," 1778, from German Kirschwasser, literally "cherry-water;" first element from Middle High German kirse, from Old High German kirsa, from Vulgar Latin *ceresia, from Late Latin cerasium "cherry" (see cherry). For second element, see water (n.1).
kirtle (n.)
Old English cyrtel, "a man's tunic; a woman's skirt," which is related to Old Norse kyrtill "tunic;" both are regarded as being probably from Latin curtus "short" (from PIE root *sker- (1) "to cut") + diminutive suffix -el (2). The thing it described varied by time and place. Of garments for both sexes in Old English; but later principally of male attire before c. 1500 and female ("gown," later "outer petticoat") from c. 1650.
kishke (n.)
type of sausage, 1936, Yiddish, from Russian kishka "gut," from PIE root *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal."
kismet (n.)
"fate, destiny," 1834, from Turkish qismet, from Arabic qismah, qismat "portion, lot, fate," from root of qasama "he divided."
Popularized as the title of a novel in 1877.
kissing (n.)
c. 1300, verbal noun from kiss (v.). Kissage is attested from 1886.
kiss (n.)
Old English coss "a kiss, embrace," noun derived from kiss (v.). It became Middle English cos, cus, but in Modern English this was conformed to the verb.
Meaning "small chocolate or candy piece" is from 1825; compare Shakespeare's kissing comfits (1590s) in reference to little sweets used to freshen breath. Kiss-proof, of lipstick, is from 1937. Kiss of death in figurative sense "thing that signifies impending failure" is from 1944 (Billboard magazine, Oct. 21), ultimately in reference to Judas's kiss in Gethsemane (Matthew xxvi.48-50). The kiss of peace was, in Old English, sibbecoss (for first element, see sibling).
kiss (v.)
Old English cyssan "to touch with the lips" (in respect, reverence, etc.), from Proto-Germanic *kussjan (source also of Old Saxon kussian, Old Norse kyssa, Old Frisian kessa, Middle Dutch cussen, Dutch, Old High German kussen, German küssen, Norwegian and Danish kysse, Swedish kyssa), from *kuss-, probably ultimately imitative of the sound. Gothic used kukjan. Of two persons, "to reciprocally kiss, to kiss each other," c. 1300. Related: Kissed; kissing. The vowel was uncertain through Middle English; for vowel evolution, see bury.
A common ku- sound may be found in the Germanic root and Greek kynein "to kiss," Hittite kuwash-anzi "they kiss," Sanskrit cumbati "he kisses." Some languages make a distinction between the kiss of affection and that of erotic love (compare Latin saviari "erotic kiss," vs. osculum, literally "little mouth"). French embrasser "kiss," but literally "embrace," came about in 17c. when the older word baiser (from Latin basiare) acquired an obscene connotation.
To kiss the cup "drink liquor" is early 15c. To kiss the dust "die" is from 1835. To kiss and tell is from 1690s. Figurative (and often ironic) kiss (something) goodbye is from 1935. To kiss (someone) off "dismiss, get rid of" is from 1935, originally of the opposite sex. Insulting invitation kiss my arse (or ass) as an expression of contemptuous rejection is from at least 1705, but probably much older (see "The Miller's Tale").
kissing (adj.)
1580s, present-participle adjective from kiss (v.). For kissing cousin, see cousin.
kissable (adj.)
1783, from kiss (v.) + -able. Related: Kissably; kissability.
kisser (n.)
"one who kisses," 1530s, agent noun from kiss (v.). As slang for "the mouth," attested from 1860. Kissee is attested from 1827.
kist (n.)
"chest," c. 1300, from Old Norse kista "chest," from Latin cista (see chest).
kit (n.1)
late 13c., "round wooden tub," perhaps from Middle Dutch kitte "jug, tankard, wooden container," a word of unknown origin. Meaning "collection of personal effects," especially for traveling (originally in reference to a soldier), is from 1785, a transfer of sense from the chest to the articles in it; that of "outfit of tools for a workman" is from 1851. Of drum sets, by 1929. Meaning "article to be assembled by the buyer" is from 1930s. The soldier's stout kit-bag is from 1898.
kit (n.2)
"small fiddle used by dancing teachers," 1510s, probably ultimately a shortening of Old English cythere, from Latin cithara, from Greek kithara (see guitar).
kitab (n.)
in Islam, "a book," especially the Quran but also the Bible and other sacred books of revealed religions, 1885, from Arabic kitab "book," literally "a writing," from Aramaic kethabh "a writing."
kit and caboodle (n.)
also kaboodle, 1870, earlier kit and boodle (1855), kit and cargo (1848), according to OED from kit (n.1) in dismissive sense "number of things viewed as a whole" (1785) + boodle "lot, collection," perhaps from Dutch boedel "property." Century Dictionary compares the whole kit, of persons, "every one" (1785).
kit-cat (n.)
name of a club founded by Whig politicians in London (Addison and Steele were members), 1703; so called from Christopher ("Kit") Catling, or a name similar to it, a tavernkeeper or pastry cook in London, in whose property the club first met. Hence "a size of portrait less than half length in which a hand may be shown" (1754), supposedly is because the dining room in which portraits of club members hung was too low for half-length portraits.
kitch (n.)
colloquial shortening of kitchen, attested by 1919. Sometimes also an erroneous spelling of kitsch.
kitchen (n.)
"room in which food is cooked, part of a building fitted out for cooking," c. 1200, from Old English cycene "kitchen," from Proto-Germanic *kokina (source also of Middle Dutch cökene, Old High German chuhhina, German Küche, Danish kjøkken), probably borrowed from Vulgar Latin *cocina (source also of French cuisine, Spanish cocina), a variant of Latin coquina "kitchen," from fem. of coquinus "of cooks," from coquus "cook," from coquere "to cook" (from PIE root *pekw- "to cook, ripen").
The Old English word might be directly from Vulgar Latin. Kitchen cabinet "informal but powerful set of advisers" is American English slang, 1832, originally in reference to President Andrew Jackson, whose intimate friends were supposed to have more influence with him than his official advisers. Kitchen midden (1863) in archaeology translates Danish kjøkken mødding. Surname Kitchener ("one employed in or supervising a (monastic) kitchen") is from early 14c.
kitchendom (n.)
kitchenette (n.)
1905, American English, a hybrid from kitchen + -ette.
kitchenry (n.)
c. 1600, "body of servants in a kitchen," from kitchen + -ery. From 1883 as "utensils for cooking."
kitchen sink (n.)
sink to wash food, dishes, etc., 1824. Phrase everything but (or and) the kitchen sink is attested from 1944, from World War II armed forces slang, in reference to intense bombardment.
Earlier was everything but the kitchen stove (1919).
kite (n.)
European bird of prey, inferior hawk (Milvus ictinus, but applied elsewhere to similar birds), Old English cyta, probably imitative of its cry (compare ciegan "to call," German Kauz "screech owl"). Of persons who prey on others, 1550s.
The toy kite, a light frame covered with paper or cloth, is first so-called 1660s, from its way of hovering in the air like a bird. The dismissive invitation to go fly a kite is attested by 1942, American English, probably tracing to the popular song of the same name (lyrics by Johnny Burke), sung by Bing Crosby in "The Star Maker" (1939):
kite (v.)
in reference to writing a fictitious check, 1839, American English, from 1805 phrase fly a kite "raise money by issuing commercial paper on nonexistent funds;" see kite (n.). Related: Kited; kiting.
kit-fox (n.)
small fox of western North America, 1812 (Lewis and Clark), the first element perhaps kit (1560s) the shortened form of kitten (n.), in reference to smallness.
kith (n.)
Middle English kitthe "people, race, kinsmen, family," also "homeland, native region; kinship, relationship; knowledge, news; propriety, custom," from Old English cyðð "kinship, relationship; kinsfolk, fellow-countrymen, neighbors; native country, home; knowledge, acquaintance, familiarity," from cuð "known," past participle of cunnan "to know" (see can (v.)), from PIE root *gno- "to know."
The alliterative phrase kith and kin (late 14c.) originally meant "country and kinsfolk" and is almost the word's only survival in Modern English. Some cognates have evolved different senses, such as Dutch kunde "skill, competence," German Kunde "knowledge, news, tidings."
kitsch (n.)
1926, from German kitsch, literally "gaudy, trash," from dialectal kitschen "to smear." Earlier as a German word in English.
kitschy (adj.)
1965, from kitsch + -y (2). Related: Kitchiness.
kitten (n.)
late 14c., kitoun, "the young of a domesticated cat," probably from an Anglo-French variant of Old French chaton, chitoun (Old North French caton) "little cat," a diminutive of chat "cat," from Late Latin cattus (see cat (n.)). In playful use, "a young girl, a sweetheart," from 1870. As a verb, "bring forth kittens," late 15c. To have kittens "lose one's composure" is from 1908.
kittenish (adj.)
1754, from kitten + -ish. Related: Kittenishly; Kittenishness.
kitty (n.1)
"young cat, child's pet name for a cat," 1719, variant of kitten, perhaps influenced by kitty "girl, young woman" (c. 1500), which originally is a pet form of fem. proper name Catherine. Kitty Hawk, the place in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where the Wright Brothers first flew, apparently is a mangling of a native Algonquian name; it also has been written as Chicahauk.
kitty (n.2)
"pool of money in a card game," 1884, American English, of uncertain origin. OED connects it with kit (n.1) in the 19c. sense of "collection of necessary supplies;" but perhaps it is rather from northern England slang kitty "prison, jail, lock-up" (1825), a word itself of uncertain origin.
kittle (v.)
"to tickle," mid-14c. (implied in kitellynge), from or parallel to Middle Dutch kitelen, Old High German kizzilon, German kitzeln, Old Norse kitla, all apparently somehow felt as suggestive of the action.
kitty-corner
also kittycorner, kitty-cornered, kittycornered, etc., see catty-cornered.
Kiwanis
businessmen's and professionals' society, formed in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., in 1915, the meaning and etymology of the name is obscure; early accounts of the clubs claim it is an Indian word meaning "barter, trade."
kiwi (n.)
type of flightless bird of New Zealand, 1835, from Maori kiwi, said to be of imitative origin. As slang for "a New Zealander" (originally especially a soldier) it is attested from 1918. The kiwi fruit (Actinia chinesis), was so called in U.S. from c. 1966 when it was imported there, but it is known in New Zealand as Chinese gooseberry (1925).
KKK
1868, abbreviation of ku klux klan.
Klamath
native people of the Oregon-California border region, 1826, from Southern Chinookan /tlamatl/, literally "they of the (Klamath) river," from /-matl/ "river."
Klan (n.)
1867, short for ku klux klan.
klatsch (n.)
1953, from German Klatsch "gossip" (17c.), which is said in German sources to be imitative (compare klatschen "clap hands," klatsch "a single clap of the hands"). Also see clap (v.), which in Middle English had a sense of "talk noisily or too much, chatter" (late 14c.).
*klau-
also *kleu-, klēu-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "hook, crook," also "crooked or forked branch" (used as a bar or bolt in primitive structures).
It forms all or part of: anschluss; autoclave; clause; claustrophobia; claves; clavichord; clavicle; clavier; claviger; clechy; clef; cloison; cloisonne; cloister; close (v.); close (adj.); closet; closure; cloture; clove (n.1) "dried flowerbud of a certain tropical tree, used as a spice;" cloy; conclave; conclude; disclose; enclave; enclose; exclude; foreclose; include; occlude; preclude; recluse; seclude; slot (n.2) "bar or bolt used to fasten a door, window, etc."
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek kleis "bar, bolt, key; collarbone," klobos "cage;" Latin clavis "key," clavus "nail," claudere "to shut, close;" Lithuanian kliūti "to catch, be caught on," kliaudžiu, kliausti "to check, hinder," kliūvu, kliūti "to clasp, hang;" Old Church Slavonic ključi "hook, key," ključiti "shut;" Old Irish clo "nail," Middle Irish clithar "hedge, fence;" Old High German sliozan "shut," German schließen "to shut," Schlüssel "key."
klaxon (n.)
"loud warning horn," 1908, originally on automobiles, said to have been named for the company that sold them (The Klaxon Company; distributor for Lovell-McConnell Manufacturing Co., Newark, New Jersey), but probably the company was named for the horn, from a made-up word likely based on Greek klazein "to roar," which is cognate with Latin clangere "to resound" (compare clang).
Kleagle (n.)
title of an officer in the KKK, 1921, from Klan + eagle.
Kleenex (n.)
1924, proprietary name, registered by Cellucotton Products Company, Neenah, Wisconsin, U.S.; later Kimberly-Clark Corp. An arbitrary alteration of clean + brand-name suffix -ex.
*klei-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to lean."
It forms all or part of: acclivity; anticline; clemency; client; climate; climax; cline; clinic; clinical; clino-; clitellum; clitoris; decline; declivity; enclitic; heteroclite; incline; ladder; lean (v.); lid; low (n.2) "small hill, eminence;" matroclinous; patroclinous; polyclinic; proclitic; proclivity; recline; synclinal; thermocline.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit srayati "leans," sritah "leaning;" Old Persian cay "to lean;" Lithuanian šlyti "to slope," šlieti "to lean;" Latin clinare "to lean, bend," clivus "declivity," inclinare "cause to bend," declinare "bend down, turn aside;" Greek klinein "to cause to slope, slant, incline;" Old Irish cloin "crooked, wrong;" Middle Irish cle, Welsh cledd "left," literally "slanting").
klepto
1914 (adj.); 1919 (n.); shortened form of kleptomaniac.
kleptocracy (n.)
"rule by a class of thieves," 1819, originally in reference to Spain; see kleptomania + -cracy.
kleptomania (n.)
also cleptomania, 1830, formed from mania + Greek kleptes "thief, a cheater," from kleptein "to steal, act secretly," from PIE *klep- "to steal" (an extension of root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save"); cognate with Latin clepere "to steal, listen secretly to," Old Prussian au-klipts "hidden," Old Church Slavonic poklopu "cover, wrapping," Gothic hlifan "to steal," hliftus "thief."
The word was much-derided in 19c. as a fancy term for old-fashioned thievery and an opportunity for the privileged to claim a psychological motive for criminal misbehavior.
kleptomaniac (n.)
1861; see kleptomania.
*kleu-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to hear."
It forms all or part of: ablaut; Cleon; Clio; Damocles; Hercules; leer; list (v.2) "hear, harken;" listen; loud; Mstislav; Pericles; Slav; slave; Slavic; Slovene; Sophocles; Themistocles; umlaut; Wenceslas; Yugoslav.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit srnoti "hears," srosati "hears, obeys," srutah "heard of, celebrated;" Avestan sraothra "ear;" Middle Persian srod "hearing, sound;" Greek klyo "hear, be called," klytos "heard of, celebrated," kleos "report, rumor, fame glory," kleio "make famous;" Latin cluere "to hear oneself called, be spoken of," inclutus "renowned, famous;" Armenian lu "known;" Lithuanian klausau, klausyti "to hear," šlovė "splendor, honor;" Old Church Slavonic slusati "to hear," slava "fame, glory," slovo "word;" Old Irish ro-clui-nethar "hears," clunim "I hear," clu "fame, glory," cluada "ears," Irish cloth "noble, brave;" Welsh clywaf "I hear," clod "praise, fame;" Old English hlud "loud," hlysnan "to listen, hear," hleoðor "tone, tune;" Old High German hlut "sound;" Gothic hiluþ "listening, attention."
klezmer (n.)
(plural klezmorim), by 1913, originally, "itinerant East European Jewish professional musician," from Hebrew kley zemer, literally "vessels of song," thus "musical instruments." By 1966 in reference to an old style of Eastern European Jewish music or orchestras that played it.
klieg
kind of arc lamp used as a studio light, 1921, from Bavarian-born U.S. engineers brothers Anton and John Kliegl, who invented it.
Klondike
tributary of the Yukon River in northwestern Canada, from Kutchin (Athabaskan) throndiuk, said to mean "hammer-water" and to be a reference to the practice of driving stakes into the riverbed to support fish traps. Scene of a gold rush after 1896. Related: Klondiker.
kludge
a fanciful, humorous coinage by U.S. author Jackson W. Granholm (1921-2007), "ill-assorted collection of poorly-matching parts, forming a distressing whole" (Granholm's definition), 1962, also as a verb. It persisted in the jargon of computer programmers for quick-and-dirty fixes in code. Related: Kludged; kludgy.
klutz (n.)
1967, American English, from Yiddish klots "clumsy person, blockhead," literally "block, lump," from Middle High German klotz "lump, ball." Compare German klotz "boor, clod," literally "wooden block" (see clot (n.)).
klutzy (adj.)
1965, from klutz + -y (2). Related: Klutziness.
kluxer (n.)
contemptuous for "Klansman," 1879, American English; see Ku Klux Klan.
kn-
Middle English spelling of a common Germanic consonant-cluster (in Old English it was graphed as cn-; see K). The sound it represented persists in most of the sister languages, but in English it was reduced to "n-" in standard pronunciation by 1750, after about a century of weakening and fading. It was fully voiced in Old and Middle English.
knack (n.)
mid-14c., "a deception, trick, device," a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps from or related to a Low German word meaning "a sharp sounding blow" (compare Middle English knak, late 14c.; German knacken "to crack;" also knap) and of imitative origin. Sense of "special skill" (in some specified activity) is first recorded 1580s, if this is in fact the same word. In old slang (mid-18c. to mid-19c.) nacky meant "full of knacks; ingenious, dexterous." For pronunciation, see kn-.
knackered (adj.)
"worn out, tired," 1883, past-participle adjective from knacker (v.).
knacker (v.)
"to kill, castrate" (1855), apparently from knacker (n.) "one who slaughters old or sick horses" (1812). This is probably the same word as the earlier knacker/nacker "harness-maker" (1570s), which survived in 18c. in dialects. The sense extension is perhaps because knackers supplied farmers general help with horse matters, including disposing of dead ones. The word is of uncertain origin, possibly from a dialectal survival of a Scandinavian word represented by Old Norse hnakkur "saddle," related to hnakki "back of the neck," and thus possibly related to neck (n.). Most often used in weakened sense of "to tire out" (1883) and usually encountered in its past tense, knackered.
knap (v.)
"to strike with a sharp sound," late 15c., echoic. Earlier (c. 1400) as a noun meaning "abrupt stroke." Especially "to chip or break by a sharp blow" (1530s), the sense shifting from the sound to the act that makes it. Especially of the method of sharpening flints from 1862. Related: Knapped; knapper; knapping. For pronunciation, see kn-.
knapsack (n.)
c. 1600, from Low German Knapsack (16c.), probably from knappen "to eat" literally "to crack, snap" (imitative) + Sack "bag" (see sack (n.1)). Similar formation in Dutch knapzak.
knapweed (n.)
so called for its knobby heads, from Middle English knap "ornamental knob; bunch or tuft; a button; knot or protuberance on a tree; joint in the stalk of a plant; testicle," from Old English cnæp "top, summit of a hill," or its cognate, Old Norse knappr "a knob, button, stud."
knave (n.)
late Old English cnafa "boy, male child; male servant," from Proto-Germanic *knabon- (source also of Old High German knabo "boy, youth, servant," German knabe "boy, lad"); it is also probably related to Old English cnapa "boy, youth, servant," Old Norse knapi "servant boy," Dutch knaap "a youth, servant," Middle High German knappe "a young squire," German Knappe "squire, shield-bearer." Original sense unknown; Klein suggests the prehistoric meaning might have been "stick, piece of wood." For pronunciation, see kn-.
Sense of "rogue, rascal" is first recorded c. 1200, presumably via sense evolution from "a menial" to "one of low birth," and the low character supposed to be characteristic of such a condition. But through Middle English it kept also its non-pejorative meaning, as in knave-child (Scottish knave-bairn) "male child." In playing cards, "the lowest court card," 1560s.
knavery (n.)
"knavish deeds," 1520s, from knave + -ery.
knavish (adj.)
late 14c., "low, vulgar," from knave + -ish. Meaning "rascally" is from late 15c. (implied in knavishly). Related: Knavishness.
knead (v.)
Old English cnedan "to knead, manipulate by squeezing or pressing," from Proto-Germanic *knedan (source also of Old Saxon knedan, Middle Dutch cneden, Dutch kneden, Old High German knetan, German kneten, Old Norse knoða "to knead"). Originally a strong verb (past tense cnæd, past participle cneden). For pronunciation, see kn-. The evolution of the vowel is unusual. Related: Kneaded; kneading.
knee (n.)
"joint between the principal bones of the leg," Old English cneo, cneow "knee," from Proto-Germanic *knewa- (source also of Old Norse kne, Old Saxon kneo, Old Frisian kni, Middle Dutch cnie, Dutch knie, Old High German kniu, German Knie, Gothic kniu), from PIE root *genu- (1) "knee; angle." For pronunciation, see kn-.
To be across (someone's) knee in reference to spanking is from 1866. Knee-breeches is from 1827; knee-pants is from 1858. Knee-slapper "funny joke" is from 1955.
knee (v.)
early 13c., "to bend the knee, kneel," from Old English cneowian, from cneow (see knee (n.)). The meaning "to strike with the knee" is first recorded 1892. Related: Kneed; kneeing.
kneecap (n.)
1650s, "a covering or protection for the knee," from knee (n.) + cap (n.). Meaning "bone in front of the knee joint" is from 1869; the verb in the underworld sense of "to shoot (someone) in the knee" as punishment is attested by 1975. Related: Kneecapped.
knee-deep (adj.)
c. 1400, "up to the knees," from knee (n.) + deep (adj.).
knee-high (adj.)
1743, from knee (n.) + high (adj.). Phrase knee-high to a grasshopper first recorded 1851 (earliest form was knee-high to a toad, 1814).
knee-jerk (n.)
patellar reflex, a neurological phenomenon discovered and named in 1876; see knee (n.) + jerk (n.1) in the medical sense. The figurative use appeared soon after the phrase was coined.
kneel (v.)
Old English cneowlian "to kneel, fall on the knees," from Proto-Germanic *knewljan (source also of Middle Low German knelen, Middle Dutch cnielen, Dutch knielen Gothic knussjan), from PIE root *genu- (1) "knee; angle." Past tense knelt is a modern formation (19c.) on analogy of feel/felt, etc. Related: Kneeler; kneeling.
kneepad (n.)
also knee-pad, 1858, from knee (n.) + pad (n.).
knell (n.)
Old English cnyll "sound made by a bell when struck or rung slowly," from knell (v.). Compare Dutch knal, German knall, Danish knald, Swedish knall. The Welsh cnull "death-bell" appears to be a borrowing from English. For vowel evolution, see bury. For pronunciation, see kn-.