Etymology dictionary

Kristallnacht (n.) — Kyrie eleison

Kristallnacht (n.)

in reference to the pogrom of Nov. 9-10, 1938, in Germany and Austria; from German, literally "crystal night;" often translated as "Night of Broken Glass." See crystal (n.) + night (n.).

currency unit and silver coin in Scandinavian countries, 1861, from Danish krone (plural kroner), Swedish krona (plural kronor), literally "crown," from Latin (see crown (n.)). Also the name of a 10-mark gold piece issued by the German Empire. So called for the devices stamped on them.

kroner (n.)

see krone.

Krugerrand (n.)

also Kruger rand, 1967, South African gold coin (issued for investment purposes) bearing a portrait of Transvaal President Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (1825-1904); second element is rand, unit of decimal currency introduced in Republic of South Africa 1961, named for The Rand, gold-mining area in Transvaal, short for Witwatersrand (see rand).

krummhorn (n.)

also crummhorn, "A medieval musical instrument of the clarinet class, having a curved tube and a melancholy sound" [Century Dictionary], 1864, from German, literally "crooked horn," from krumm "curved, crooked" (8c.), from a West Germanic *krumba- (compare Old English crumb, crump "crooked, bent, stooped," source of crumple); for second element see horn (n.).

Krupp (n.)

1863, in reference to guns made at the armaments works in Essen, Germany, founded by German metallurgist Alfred Krupp (1812-1887).

krypton (n.)

inert gaseous element, 1898, coined by its discoverers (Sir William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers) from Greek krypton, neuter of adjective kryptos "hidden" (see crypt); so called because it remained undiscovered for so long and was so difficult to find. Scientific American (July 9, 1898) announced it as "the discovery of yet another element."

kryptonite (n.)

fictional substance in the "Superman" series, where it weakens the otherwise invulnerable hero, 1943; perhaps from elements of krypton (which is a gas) + meteorite.

kudos (n.)

"fame, renown, glory," 1799, probably originally in university slang, from Greek kydos "glory, fame," especially in battle, "a poetical word, found chiefly in the Iliad and Odyssey" [Century Dictionary], literally "that which is heard of," perhaps from PIE root *keu- "to see, observe, perceive." In form the word is a Greek singular noun, but the final -s often is mistaken as a plural suffix in English, leading to the barbarous back-formation kudo (attested by 1936).

kudu (n.)

South African antelope, 1777, from Kaffir (Xhosa) iqhude.

kudzu (n.)

perennial climbing plant native to Japan and China, 1893, from Japanese kuzu. It was introduced in U.S. southeast as forage (1920s) and to stop soil erosion (1930s) but soon ran wild and became emblematic of anything unwanted that grows faster than it can be controlled.

kugel (n.)

kind of pudding in Jewish cookery, 1846, from Yiddish kugel, literally "ball," from Middle High German kugel "ball, globe" (see cog (n.)).

Ku Klux Klan

1867, American English, originally Kuklux Klan, a made-up name, supposedly from Greek kuklos, kyklos "circle" (see cycle (n.)) + English clan. Originally an organization of former Confederate officers and soldiers, it was put down by the U.S. military in the 1870s. Revived 1915 as a national racist Protestant fraternal organization, it grew to prominence but fractured in the 1930s. It had a smaller national revival 1950s as an anti-civil rights group, later with anti-government leanings. In late 19c. often simply Kuklux.

kulak (n.)

1877, "relatively well-to-do Russian farmer or trader," from Russian kulak (plural kulaki) "tight-fisted person," literally "fist," from Turki (Turkish) kul "hand." In the jargon of Soviet communism, applied in contempt and derision to those who worked for their own profit.

kultur (n.)

1914, originally, "ideals of civilization as conceived by the Germans," a word from the First World War and in English always at first ironic, from German Kultur, from Latin cultura (see culture (n.)).

Kulturkampf (n.)

1879, originally in reference to the struggle (1872-86) between the German government and the Catholic Church over control of educational and ecclesiastical appointments, German, literally "struggle for culture," from Kultur + Kampf "combat, fight, struggle," from Old High German kampf (8c.), from Latin campus "field, battlefield" (see campus).

kumquat (n.)

also cumquat, 1690s, from Chinese (Cantonese) kamkwat, from kam "golden" + kwat "orange." Said in OED to be a Cantonese dialectal form of Chinese kin-ku.

kung fu (n.)

also kung-fu, 1966, a generalized Western term for Chinese martial arts, from dialectal Chinese kung fu, a term said to refer to any skill acquired through learning or practice.

kunst (n.)

from German Kunst "art," originally "knowledge, skill" (9c.), abstract noun from the root of kennen "to know," können "know how, be able" (see can (v.)). Appearing in English in various compounds from 1899, never quite nativized.

Kuomintang

1912, Chinese nationalist party founded by Sun Yat-Sen (led after 1925 by Chiang Kai-Shek, and after 1949 ruling in Taiwan); from kuo "nation, nationalist" + min "people" + tang "party."

Kurd

one of a people of western Asia, 1610s, the people's self-designation. Their language is Indo-European. Related: Kurdish; Kurdistan.

kurgan (n.)

1889, from Russian, originally a Tatar word.

Kuwait

Persian Gulf country, named for its capital city (said to have been founded in current form 1705), which is from Arabic al-kuwayt, diminutive of kut, a word used in southern Iraq and eastern Arabia for a fortress-like house surrounded by a settlement and protected by encircling water, and said to be ultimately from Persian. Related: Kuwaiti.

kvass (n.)

Russian fermented drink made from rye or barley, 1550s, from Russian kvas, from Old East Slavic kvasŭ, from Proto-Slavic *kvasu "leaven, fermented drink," said to be cognate with Latin caseus "cheese" (see cheese (n.1)).

kvetch (v.)

"to complain, whine," 1953 (implied in kvetching), from Yiddish kvetshn, literally "squeeze, press," from German quetsche "crusher, presser." As a noun, from 1936 as a term of abuse for a person.

Kwa

Niger-Congo language family (including Ibo and Yoruba), 1857.

kwashiorkor (n.)

1935, from a native name in Ghana for the disease.

*kweie-

*kweiə-, also *kwyeə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to rest, be quiet."

It forms all or part of: acquiesce; acquit; awhile; coy; quiesce; quiescent; quiet; quietism; quietude; quietus; quit; quitclaim; quite; quit-rent; quittance; requiescat; requiem; requite; while; whilom.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Avestan shaitish "joy," shaiti- "well-being," shyata- "happy;" Old Persian šiyatish "joy;" Latin quies "rest, repose, quiet;" Old Church Slavonic po-koji "rest;" Old Norse hvild "rest."

*kwel- (2)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "far" (in space or time). Some sources connect this root with *kwel- (1), forming words to do with turning, via the notion of "completion of a cycle."

It forms all or part of: paleo-; tele-; teleconference; telegony; telegraph; telegram; telekinesis; Telemachus; telemeter; telepathy; telephone; telescope; television.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit caramah "the last;" Greek tele "far off, afar, at or to a distance," palaios "old, ancient," palai "long ago, far back;" Breton pell "far off," Welsh pellaf "uttermost."

*kwel- (1)

also *kwelə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "revolve, move round; sojourn, dwell."

It forms all or part of: accolade; ancillary; atelo-; bazaar; bicycle; bucolic; chakra; chukker; collar; collet; colonial; colony; cult; cultivate; culture; cyclamen; cycle; cyclo-; cyclone; cyclops; decollete; encyclical; encyclopedia; entelechy; epicycle; hauberk; hawse; inquiline; Kultur; lapidocolous; nidicolous; palimpsest; palindrome; palinode; pole (n.2) "ends of Earth's axis;" pulley; rickshaw; talisman; teleology; telic; telophase; telos; torticollis; wheel.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit cakram "circle, wheel," carati "he moves, wanders;" Avestan caraiti "applies himself," c'axra "chariot, wagon;" Greek kyklos "circle, wheel, any circular body, circular motion, cycle of events,"polos "a round axis" (PIE *kw- becomes Greek p- before some vowels), polein "move around;" Latin colere "to frequent, dwell in, to cultivate, move around," cultus "tended, cultivated," hence also "polished," colonus "husbandman, tenant farmer, settler, colonist;" Lithuanian kelias "a road, a way;" Old Norse hvel, Old English hweol "wheel;" Old Church Slavonic kolo, Old Russian kolo, Polish koło, Russian koleso "a wheel."

*kwent(h)-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to suffer."

It forms all or part of: anthropopathy; antipathy; apathy; empathy; idiopathy; nepenthe; osteopathy; -path; pathetic; -pathic; patho-; pathogenic; pathognomonic; pathology; pathos; -pathy; psychopathic; sympathy.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek pathos "suffering, feeling, emotion, calamity," penthos "grief, sorrow;" Old Irish cessaim "I suffer;" Lithuanian kenčiu, kentėti "to suffer," pakanta "patience."

*kwetwer-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "four."

It forms all or part of: cadre; cahier; carillon; carrefour; catty-cornered; diatessaron; escadrille; farthing; firkin; fortnight; forty; four; fourteen; fourth; quadrant; quadraphonic; quadratic; quadri-; quadrilateral; quadriliteral; quadrille; quadriplegia; quadrivium; quadroon; quadru-; quadruped; quadruple; quadruplicate; quarantine; quarrel (n.2) "square-headed bolt for a crossbow;" quarry (n.2) "open place where rocks are excavated;" quart; quarter; quarterback; quartermaster; quarters; quartet; quarto; quaternary; quatrain; quattrocento; quire (n.1) "set of four folded pages for a book;" squad; square; tessellated; tetra-; tetracycline; tetrad; tetragrammaton; tetrameter; tetrarch; trapezium.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit catvarah, Avestan čathwaro, Persian čatvar, Greek tessares, Latin quattuor, Oscan petora, Old Church Slavonic četyre, Lithuanian keturi, Old Irish cethir, Welsh pedwar.

*kwo-

also *kwi-, Proto-Indo-European root, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns.

It forms all or part of: cheese (n.2) "a big thing;" cue (n.1) "stage direction;" either; hidalgo; how; kickshaw; neither; neuter; qua; quality; quandary; quantity; quasar; quasi; quasi-; query; quib; quibble; quiddity; quidnunc; quip; quodlibet; quondam; quorum; quote; quotidian; quotient; ubi; ubiquity; what; when; whence; where; whether; which; whither; who; whoever; whom; whose; why.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit kah "who, which;" Avestan ko, Hittite kuish "who;" Latin quis/quid "in what respect, to what extent; how, why," qua "where, which way," qui/quae/quod "who, which;" Lithuanian kas "who;" Old Church Slavonic kuto, Russian kto "who;" Old Irish ce, Welsh pwy "who;" Old English hwa, hwæt, hwær, etc.

*kwon-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "dog."

It forms all or part of: canaille; canary; canicular; canid; canine; chenille; corgi; cynic; cynical; cynosure; dachshund; hound; kennel; Procyon; quinsy.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit svan-, Avestan spa, Greek kyōn, Latin canis, Old English hund, Old High German hunt, Old Irish cu, Welsh ci, Russian sobaka (apparently from an Iranian source such as Median spaka), Armenian shun, Lithuanian šuo "dog."

*kwrep-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "body, form, appearance," probably a verbal root meaning "to appear."

It forms all or part of: corporal (adj.) "of or belonging to the body;" corporate; corporation; corporeal; corps; corpse; corpulence; corpulent; corpus; corpuscle; corsage; corse; corset; incorporeal; incorporate; leprechaun; midriff.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit krp- "form, body;" Avestan kerefsh "form, body;" Latin corpus "body" (living or dead); Old English hrif "belly," Old High German href "womb, belly, abdomen."

kylix (n.)

"elegant cup or vase for drinking" (usually broad and shallow, with handles), 1873 (earlier in German), from Greek kylix "cup," which is similar to Latin calix "deep bowl, cup" (see chalice).

kymatology (n.)

science of waves, 1906, from Greek kyma (genitive kymatos) "a wave" (from PIE root *keue- "to swell") + -ology. Related: Kymatological; kymatologist.

Kyoto

city in Japan, from kyo + to, both meaning "capital." Founded 794 as Heionkyo "Capital of Calm and Peace," it also has been known as Miyako and Saikyo. Kyoto Protocol so called because it was initially adopted Dec. 11, 1997, in the Japanese city.

kyphosis (n.)

"angular curvature of the spine," 1854 (in a translation from German, where it is attested by 1783), from Greek kyphos "crooked" + -osis.

Kyrgyz

also Kirghiz, Turkic people of western Central Asia, 1650s; their name is of disputed origin.

Kyrie eleison

early 13c., a Greek liturgical formula adopted untranslated into the Latin mass, literally "lord have mercy" (Psalm cxxii.3; Matthew xv.22, xvii.15, etc.). From kyrie, vocative of kyrios "lord, master" (see church (n.)) + eleeson, aorist imperative of eleo "I have pity on, show mercy to," from eleos "pity, mercy" (see alms). Hence, the corresponding part of a musical setting of the Mass or Anglican Communion.