"K" Word Origins

kiwi

Origin

From the Māori name for the bird, imitating its call. "Kiwi" later became a nickname for New Zealanders themselves, and separately lent its name to the green fruit because of a supposed resemblance to the bird's fuzzy body.

Kiyoko

Japanese

A Japanese given name, borrowed into English as-is.

Kiyomi

Japanese

The fruit and the given name share the same Japanese origin, borrowed into English separately.

Kiyoshi

Japanese

A Japanese given name, borrowed into English as-is.

Kizzy

Hebrew · 1976

A pet form of the Hebrew name Kezia, popularised in English-speaking countries after appearing as a character name in Alex Haley's 1976 novel Roots.

kk

Origin

A doubled-up form of "k," itself a clipped version of "okay," common in texting and chat.

Klan

Origin

A shortened form of "Ku Klux Klan."

klatch

Origin

Borrowed from German Klatsch (“meeting at which people gossip”).

klaxon

Greek · 1900

Originally a trademark, from a Greek verb meaning "to make a sharp sound." An American manufacturer registered it in the early 1900s for the loud horns fitted to early automobiles, and the name eventually became a generic word for any similar alarm.

kleenex

Origin · 1920

From the trademark Kleenex, registered by the company now known as Kimberly-Clark in the mid-1920s. The name blends "clean" with the suffix seen in brand names like "Cutex."

Klein

German

Borrowed directly from the German word klein, meaning "small," used as a surname.

klepto

Origin

A clipped, casual form of "kleptomaniac."

kleptocracy

Greek

From Greek kleptes 'thief' plus -kratia 'rule, power', the same ending as in democracy and autocracy.

kleptomaniac

Greek

Built from Greek kleptein, "to steal," combined with the "-maniac" ending used for compulsive behaviours.

klick

Origin

* Most likely a pseudo-condensed pronunciation of kilometer, being a suitably short word emphasizing k+l instead of /keɪ/ alone (the same principle as with military spelling alphabets, but also clearly distinguished from kilo (/kiːloʊ/) for kilogram). * Possibly onomatopoeic of the sound of a military odometer. When a soldier would complete a mark, they would signal to their commander and denote movement of 1,000 meters by hoisting up their rifle and moving the gas regulator with their thumb, which made a "click" the commander could hear.

Klingon

Origin · 1982

Coined for the Star Trek franchise; the constructed language was later developed in detail by linguist Marc Okrand for the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

klipspringer

Origin

Borrowed from Afrikaans klipspringer, from Dutch klipspringer, both literally meaning "rock-jumper".

Klondike

Origin · 1890

Named after the Klondike River region in Yukon, Canada, site of a famous 1890s gold rush. The river's name comes from a local Indigenous word roughly meaning "hammerstone water."

Kloss

Origin

* As a German surname Klöss, from the personal name Kloss, shortened from Nikolaus. Compare Klos. * Also as a German surname, from the noun Kloß (“lump, block”). * Also Germanized from several of Slavic surnames, such as Upper Sorbian kłós, Lower Sorbian kłos, and Polish kłos, all meaning "ear or spike of cereal;" see also Klos.

kludge

Origin

Perhaps from British military slang, possibly based on Scots word kludge or kludgie (“common toilet”), or perhaps from German klug (“clever”). Alternatively, possibly related to Polish klucz (“key, clue, main point”) and Russian ключ (ključ, “key, clue”). Alternatively, perhaps from (a form related to) Germanic words such as Dutch Low Saxon klütje (“(little) dumpling, clod”), Dutch kluit(je) or Jutland Danish klyt (“piece of bad workmanship, klud(g)e”); compare and standard Danish kludder (“mess, disorder”). (Compare klutz.) There is evidence that kluge (which see) was once a separate word with similar meaning but separate derivation, but the spelling kludge was widely popularized in the US by an article in Datamation "How to Design a Kludge" (1962), and since then the two words have often been used as alternative spellings of each other. According to the OED, an "invented word" influenced by bodge and fudge.

klutz

Yiddish

From Yiddish klots, literally "wooden beam" or "block," used figuratively for a clumsy or slow-witted person. It's a close relative of the English words "clot" and "clod."

KMS

Origin

An initialism of "kill myself," modelled on the earlier slang term "KYS" ("kill yourself").

knack

Middle English · 1500

Recorded in Middle English originally for a sharp sound or sudden blow, likely imitating the noise itself. By the late 1500s the word had shifted to mean a clever trick or special skill — the idea of doing something with a quick, effortless snap.

knacker

Origin

From Old Norse hnak (“saddle”) (whence Icelandic hnakkur (“saddle”)).

knackered

Origin

From "knacker," originally the person who slaughtered worn-out horses — so being "knackered" meant fit only for the knacker's yard, worn out beyond use.

Knapp

Middle English

* As a German surname, from the noun Knabe (“boy, young unmarried man”). This is also found as the variant Knap. * As an English surname related to the above, from the noun knave, similar to Nave. * Also as an English surname, from Middle English knappe (“hillock”), from Old English cnæpp (“summit”), probably from the same source as Icelandic hnappur (“button”). * As a Jewish surname, from the German adjective knapp (“scarce, tight”).

knapsack

German

From a Low German or Dutch word combining knappen, "to bite or crack" (referring to eating), with sack — essentially a "food sack," reflecting its early use for carrying rations.

knave

Old English

From Old English cnafa, originally just meaning "boy" or "male servant." Over the centuries the word's meaning darkened from a harmless term for a young servant into one for a dishonest, untrustworthy man.

knavish

Origin

From Middle English knavych, knavyssh; equivalent to knave + -ish.

knead

Old English

From Old English cnedan, going back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to press together."

kneading

Origin

From Middle English knedynge; equivalent to knead + -ing.

knee

Latin

From Old English cnēow, an ancient Germanic word related to Latin genū and Greek gónu — both also meaning "knee."

kneecap

Origin

From knee + cap, describing the cap-shaped bone that sits over the knee joint.

kneecapper

Origin

From kneecap + -er.

kneel

Old English

From Old English cnēowlian, built from knee plus a verb-forming ending, meaning literally "to go to the knee."

kneelet

Origin

From knee + -let.

kneeling

Middle English

From kneel plus the -ing ending, tracing back to Middle English knelinge.

kneepan

Origin

From knee + pan.

knell

Old English

From Old English cnyllan, "to strike or knock," related to an old Germanic root meaning "to beat or push."

knickerbockers

Origin

From Knickerbocker + -s, after the short breeches worn by Diedrich Knickerbocker in George Cruikshank's illustrations of Washington Irving's 1809 A History of New York.

knickers

Dutch

A shortening of "knickerbockers," itself from Diedrich Knickerbocker, a fictional Dutch-American character invented by the writer Washington Irving.

Knicks

Origin

The team name comes from "Knickerbockers," referencing the same fictional Diedrich Knickerbocker used to describe old New Yorkers.

knife

Old Norse

From Old Norse knífr, related to a Germanic root meaning "to pinch."

knifed

Origin

From knife + -ed.

knifepoint

Origin

From knife + point.

knight

Old English

From Old English cniht, originally meaning simply "boy" or "servant" — the meaning shifted over centuries to "mounted warrior" and then "honoured title."

knighthood

Old English

From knight plus the -hood ending, tracing back to Old English cnihthād.

knit

Old English

From Old English cnyttan, meaning "to tie, fasten, or bind" — closely related to the word knot.