English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

"K" Word Origins

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

“K” Word Origins

Borrowed from Dutch Koen.

Borrowed from German König (“king”).

Borrowed from Hokkien 許／许 (Khó͘), Hokkien 高 (Ko), Hokkien 古 (Kó͘), Hokkien 辜 (Ko͘), Korean 고(高) (Ko) in McCune–Reischauer romanization., etc.

Borrowed from Japanese 後(こう)輩(はい) (kōhai, literally “later cohort”). Doublet of hoobae.

Borrowed from Japanese こはる (Koharu).

Borrowed from Japanese こうへい (Kōhei).

Rare spelling variant of Cohen.

From the German surname, from Kohl (“cabbage”). Compare Koehl, Cole, Coll, Kail, Kale.

From German Kohler, Köhler (“charcoal burner”).

From Japanese 鯉 (koi), meaning carp.

Borrowed from Japanese こういち (Kōichi), a male given name with many variant kanji spellings.

Borrowed from Japanese 小泉 (Koizumi).

From Japanese 麹 (kōji), the fermenting agent used across Japanese cuisine.

Borrowed from Japanese 小島 (Kojima) or 児島 (Kojima).

* As a Dutch surname, from kok (“cook”). Doublet of Cook and Koch. * As a Chinese surname, spelling variant of Guo

Traced back to a Burmese word for the same tree.

Borrowed from Japanese 心 (kokoro), meaning heart, mind, or spirit.

From Bengali কলকাতা (Kolkata); the exact origin of the name is debated.

Re-spelling of Colton.

Borrowed from Sanskrit कोमल (komala, “soft, delicate, tender”).

Named after Komodo Island in Indonesia, where the lizard is found.

From Russian комсомол, an acronym for "Communist Union of Youth".

From the surname of Marie Kondo, the Japanese organising consultant whose method popularised the term.

Borrowed from Mandarin 孔 (kǒng) or Cantonese 江 (gong1).

From Māori kono.

A surname borrowed from various European languages, all ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *Kōnirād, a male given name.

Romanization of Cantonese 顧／顾 (gu3).

Possibly derived from "cuckoo", a word long used to describe someone a bit crazy.

From kook + the adjective-forming suffix -y.

Back slang for "look" — the sounds of the word are reversed, a trick common in old London street slang.

From West Germanic * As a Dutch and German surname, from kopen (“to buy”). * As a West Frisian surname, shortened from Jakob, a form of Jacob.

From Biblical Hebrew כֹּר (kōr).

Borrowed from the Bambara word kɔ́ra, the name used for the instrument in Mali and neighbouring countries.

An older Romanization that came into English via Czech Korán, ultimately from Arabic.

From Ancient Greek κόρη (kórē, “girl, maiden”).

From "Goryeo," the name of a dynasty that ruled the region from 918 to 1392.

Formed from "Korea" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-an".

From Korea + town.

20th-century American variant of Cory.

Borrowed from Gujarati કોરી (korī).

20th-century US variant of Cory.

Americanized spelling of German Kosch.

From Yiddish כּשר (kosher), from Hebrew כָּשֵׁר (kasher), meaning "fit" or "proper".

From Serbo-Croatian Kosovo polje ("blackbirds' field").

Transliteration of Greek Κώστας (Kóstas), a male given name used in (modern) Greece.

Borrowed from Japanese こうすけ (Kōsuke).

Ultimately from Proto-Dravidian *kōṭ-.

From Japanese 箏 (koto).