"K" Word Origins

ketamine

Origin · 1960

A blend of "ketone" and "amine", reflecting its chemical structure; the drug was first developed in the mid-1960s.

ketchup

Chinese · 1600

Likely from a Hokkien Chinese word for fish sauce, passed through Malay into English in the late 1600s; early English "ketchup" referred to various savory sauces long before tomato ketchup became standard in the 19th century.

kettle

Old English

From Old English cietel, related to Old Norse ketill, both ultimately from a Germanic word for a vessel or cauldron; the policing sense is a modern figurative extension, comparing a contained crowd to water trapped in a kettle.

kettledrum

Origin

From kettle + drum.

kettleful

Origin

* from kettle + -ful

Kev

Origin

Originally a shortened, casual form of the given name "Kevin", which became a stereotype-based slang term in British English.

Kevin

Old Irish · 1900

From the Irish given name Kevin (from Old Irish Cóemgén, "fair-born"), which became a slang stereotype in British English in the late 20th century, partly popularized by a Harry Enfield comedy character.

Kevlar

Origin · 1960

From "Kevlar", a trademarked brand name for the aramid fiber developed by DuPont in the 1960s.

kevy

Origin

Shortening.

kew

French

From Middle English pronunciation of the letter, ultimately tied to the French name for "Q".

key

Old English

From Old English cæg, of uncertain deeper origin, though it may ultimately trace back to a root meaning "stake" or "peg" — early keys were simple rods used to lift a bar across a door.

keyaki

Origin

From Japanese 欅.

keyboard

Origin

A straightforward compound of "key" and "board" — literally a board fitted with keys.

keyboarding

Origin

From keyboard + -ing.

keycard

Origin

A modern compound of "key" and "card", describing a card that does a key's job.

keychain

Origin

From "key" plus "chain", named for the physical ring that keeps keys together.

keyed

Origin

* (praiseworthy and admirable): Coined by Soyjak.party users upset at the widened usage of based (“praiseworthy and admirable, particularly in a perceived countercultural sense”) outside of their community. Most likely simply from the verb key; in slang perhaps connected to the "securing" action of a lock and key (compare e.g. scored).

keyhole

Origin

A compound of "key" and "hole" — literally the hole a key fits into.

Keynes

French

From the Norman French place name meaning "at the oaks."

keynote

Origin

From "key" (as in the musical key a piece is built on) plus "note", extended figuratively to mean the central theme of any speech or event.

keypad

Origin

From "key" and "pad", describing a compact panel of number or function keys.

keyring

Origin

From key + ring.

keystone

Origin

From "key" (in the sense of a locking piece) and "stone" — the stone that locks an arch together.

keyword

Origin

From "key" (in the sense of something that unlocks access) plus "word".

KGB

Russian

An acronym of the Russian Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, meaning "Committee for State Security".

kha

Russian

From Russian ха (kha), the native name of the letter.

khaki

Persian · 1800

Borrowed from Urdu/Hindi khaki, meaning "dusty" or "dust-coloured", ultimately from Persian khak ("dust"). The colour became linked with military uniforms after British troops adopted it for camouflage during colonial campaigns in the 1800s.

Khaled

Arabic

Transliteration of Arabic خَالِد (ḵālid).

Khaleesi

Origin

Borrowed from Dothraki khaleesi (“queen”), feminine of khal (“king”). Coined by American writer and television producer George R. R. Martin for the title of the character Daenerys Targaryen in his book A Song of Ice and Fire (1996) novels. Popularised by the later television adaptation Game of Thrones (2011).

Khalid

Arabic

From Arabic خَالِد (ḵālid, “immortal; glorious; eternal”).

Khalil

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic خَلِيل (ḵalīl, “friend”).

khan

Origin

From Turkic and Mongolic titles meaning "ruler" or "lord", most famously associated with Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire.

Khanna

Origin

Borrowed from Punjabi ਖੰਨਾ (khannā).

Khartoum

Arabic

Possibly from Arabic خُرْطُوم (ḵurṭūm, “elephant trunk”), but more likely from Arabic قُرْطُم (qurṭum, “safflower”).

kharun

Origin

From French Kharun, from Arabic هَارُون (hārūn). Doublet of Aaron.

khat

Origin

Borrowed from Arabic قَات (qāt).

khazi

Origin

Variant of carsey, from euphemistic Cockney corruption of Italian casa (“house”), possibly via Polari and Sabir.

Khloe

Origin

Variant of Khloé, a fanciful spelling variant of Chloe, made known in the 2000s by American TV personality Khloé Kardashian.

Khmer

Origin

From the French romanization of Khmer ខ្មែរ (khmae).

Khomeini

Origin

Borrowed from Iranian Persian خمینی (xomeyni), from خمین (xomeyn, “Khomeyn”) + ـی (-i).

Khrushchev

Russian

From Russian Хрущёв (Xruščóv), usually written Хрущев (Xruščev) (see note about Russian letter ё (jo)).

Khun

Origin

From Manipuri ꯈꯨꯟ (khun).

Khurana

Origin

Borrowed from Punjabi ਖੁਰਾਣਾ (khurāṇā).

Khyber

Origin

Shortened from Khyber Pass.

kI

Chinese

From the Japanese character 気/氣, meaning vital energy or spirit — the same concept behind Chinese "qi".

KIA

Korean

The military abbreviation comes from "killed in action"; the car brand name derives from Korean roots meaning roughly "to arise out of Asia."

kibble

Origin

Originally a British dialect word (from Shropshire) meaning to grind coarsely; its exact roots before that are unclear.

kibbutz

Hebrew

From Hebrew kibbutz, meaning "gathering" or "collective", from the verb "to gather" or "assemble".