"K" Word Origins

ka

Origin

From the ancient Egyptian word kꜣ, referring to this concept of the soul or life-force.

kabaddi

Hindi

From Hindi kabaddi, itself borrowed from Tamil, where the word traces back to "kai" (hand) plus "pidi" (grip) — roughly "holding hands."

Kabbalah

Hebrew

From Hebrew qabbalah, literally "something received" — reflecting the idea that these mystical teachings were handed down through the generations.

Kabir

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic كَبِير (kabīr, “big, large, great”). This surname is mostly found in Bangladesh.

kaboom

Origin

A playful blend of the prefix "ka-" with "boom," built to sound like an explosion — similar to comic-book words like "kerboom" or "kapow."

kabuki

Japanese

Borrowed directly from Japanese kabuki, a centuries-old form of stylised theatre.

Kabul

Classical Persian

Borrowed from Classical Persian کَابُل (kābul), of unknown origin. See the Persian entry for more.

kabuli

Origin

From Kabul + -i, or directly from Persian کابلی (“Kabuli”).

Kadir

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic قَادِر (qādir, “powerful, capable”). This surname is predominantly found in Indonesia and India.

kaffir

Origin

Ultimately from Arabic كَفَّار (kaffār, “infidel”) or كَافِر (kāfir, “unbeliever”), both from كَفَرَ (kafara, “to cover, to hide”); in some (especially early) uses, via Spanish cafre, Dutch kaffer or other European languages. Doublet of kafir.

kafir

Origin

Borrowed from Arabic كَافِر (kāfir, “denier, unbeliever”). Doublet of kaffir.

Kafka

German

From German Kafka, from Czech German Kavka (“jackdaw”), from either Upper Sorbian or Lower Sorbian, which are ultimately from the Proto-Slavic *kavъka, imitating the call of a jackdaw. Compare Polish kawka, Czech kavka, Slovene kávka, all meaning “jackdaw”.

Kafkaesque

German

From the surname of the writer Franz Kafka, whose fiction depicts individuals trapped by opaque authority, plus the adjective ending -esque.

kaftan

Origin

Via Russian кафта́н (kaftán), from Ottoman Turkish قفتان (kaftan), from Classical Persian خَفْتَان (xaftān), which occurs already in the Shahnameh.

Kagami

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese かがみ (Kagami).

Kagawa

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 香(か)川(がわ) (Kagawa).

kagome

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese kagome, referring to the gaps in a woven basket.

Kahn

Origin

* As a north German surname, from Low German Kane (“small boat”), from Middle Low German kāne, from Old Saxon *kano, from Proto-West Germanic *kanō, from Proto-Germanic *kanô (“vessel, boat”). * Also as a north German surname, from a short form of Kahnert, a variant of Konrad. * Among Jews, a Germanicised form of Cohen.

kahuna

Origin

Borrowed from Hawaiian kahuna ("priest, expert, wizard").

kai

Origin

Borrowed from Māori kai ("food").

Kailash

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit कैलास (kailāsa).

kaiping

Origin

From Mandarin 開平 /开平 (Kāipíng).

Kaiser

German

Borrowed from German kaiser ("emperor"), itself ultimately derived from the Roman name Caesar — making it a distant cousin of both "Caesar" and the Russian title "tsar."

kaj

Origin

From Armenian, referring to storm spirits in traditional folklore.

kaji

Origin

From Georgian, referring to a class of folkloric spirits.

kak

Origin

Borrowed from Khmer កាក់ (kak). Doublet of jiao.

kaka

Origin

Borrowed from the Māori word kākā, the native name for the bird.

kakistocracy

Origin

From Ancient Greek κάκιστος (kákistos, “worst”), superlative of κακός (kakós, “bad”) + -κρατία (-kratía, “power, rule, government”) (corresponding to -cracy). The word was used, perhaps re-coined, by the English author Thomas Love Peacock (1785–1866) in his 1829 novella The Misfortunes of Elphin as the opposite of aristocracy (see second quotation).

Kala

Sanskrit

Hindu surname from Sanskrit कला (kalā).

Kalahari

Origin

From Tswana Kgalagadi, meaning roughly "the great thirst" — a reference to how dry the region is.

Kalashnikov

Russian · 1919

Named after its Russian inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919-2013).

kale

Latin

From Old English cāl, ultimately from Latin caulis ("stalk, cabbage") — the same root that gives us "cauliflower" and "cole" (as in coleslaw).

Kaleb

Hebrew

From Hebrew כלב (“dog”), possibly referring to a dog’s unconditional devotion to its master.

kaleidoscope

Greek · 1817

Coined in 1817 by Scottish scientist David Brewster from Greek kalos ("beautiful") + eidos ("shape") + "-scope" (an instrument for viewing) — literally "an instrument for viewing beautiful shapes."

kali

Arabic

The chemical sense comes from Arabic qily via "alkali"; the goddess's name is Sanskrit, related to "kala" meaning time or death.

Kalpana

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit कल्पना (kalpanā).

Kalyan

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit कल्याण (kalyāṇa, “welfare, prosperity”).

Kalyani

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit कल्याणी (kalyāṇī, “auspicious, beneficial, prosperous”).

kam

Scottish Gaelic

From Welsh cam, meaning "bent" or "crooked," ultimately from a Celtic root shared with Irish and Scottish Gaelic cam.

kama

Sanskrit

The weapon sense comes from Japanese kama, "sickle." The Hindu philosophical sense is a separate word from Sanskrit, meaning "desire."

Kamakura

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 鎌倉 (Kamakura).

Kamal

Arabic

From Arabic "kamal," meaning "perfection."

kamala

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit "kamala," meaning "lotus" or a shade of orange-red.

kamden

Origin

Fanciful modern spelling of Camden.

kami

Japanese

From Japanese "kami," meaning "god" or "spirit."

kamikaze

Japanese · 1281

From Japanese kamikaze, literally "divine wind" — originally the name for the typhoon that wrecked a Mongol invasion fleet off Japan in 1281, later applied to WWII suicide pilots who saw themselves in the same protective role.

kamp

Origin

A spelling variant of "camp" in its slang sense of "homosexual."

kampuchean

Origin

From Kampuchea + -an.