"K" Word Origins

kibitzer

Origin

From kibitz + -er.

kibun

Origin

From Korean 기분(氣分) (gibun).

kick

Middle English

From Middle English kiken, likely from an Old Norse word meaning "to bend backwards at the knee", describing the motion of striking out with the leg.

kickback

Origin

From "kick" + "back" — literally something that kicks back at you, whether a payment returned in secret or a tool recoiling.

kickball

Origin

From "kick" + "ball," describing exactly what the game involves.

kickboxing

Origin · 1960

A blend of "kick" and "boxing"; the sport as we know it took shape in Japan in the 1960s, mixing striking styles from several martial arts traditions.

kicker

Origin

From "kick" + "-er," originally meaning simply "one who kicks," later extended figuratively to anything that delivers a surprising jolt to a story.

kicking

Origin

The present-participle form of "kick," used as both a verb form and an adjective for ongoing energy or vitality.

kicks

Origin

Plural of "kick," slang usage that emerged in American English referring to footwear.

kickshaw

Origin

From Middle French quelque chose (“something”).

kid

Middle English · 1590

From Old Norse "kið" (young goat), which entered English through Middle English. The word was first used as slang for "child" around the 1590s and became standard informal English by the 1840s.

kidder

Origin

From "kid" (to tease) + the agent suffix "-er."

kiddie

Origin

From "kid" + the diminutive suffix "-ie."

kidding

Origin

The -ing form of "kid" (to tease playfully).

kiddo

Origin

From "kid" + the informal suffix "-o," found in similar casual coinages like "cheerio."

kiddy

Origin

From "kid" + the adjectival suffix "-y." Also a variant spelling of "kiddie."

Kidman

Origin

From "kid" (young goat) + "man," an old occupational surname for a goatherd.

kidnap

Origin · 1600

From "kid" (child) + slang "nap" (to snatch or grab). It began as 17th-century criminal slang for stealing children to sell as laborers in overseas colonies.

kidnapped

Origin

Past-tense/adjectival form of "kidnap."

kidnapper

Origin

From "kidnap" + the agent suffix "-er."

kidnapping

Origin

From "kidnap" + "-ing," forming the noun for the act itself.

kidney

Middle English

From Middle English "kideney," of murky origin — likely a blend of an old word for "sack" (referring to the organ's pouch-like shape) and an older word for "kidney" itself, with the spelling reshaped to resemble "egg" (Middle English "ey").

kidskin

Origin

From kid + skin.

kielbasa

Origin

Borrowed from Polish kiełbasa (“sausage”), from Proto-Slavic *kъlbasa, which may derive from Proto-Turkic for "grilled cutlet," literally "pressed on ashes," from *kül (“ash”) + *bas (“to press”) (modern Turkish basmak). See the Ukrainian cognate ковбаса́ (kovbasá, “sausage”), whence kubasa, for more information.

Kieran

Irish

An anglicized spelling of Irish "Ciarán," from "ciar" ("dark, black").

Kierkegaard

Danish

Borrowed directly from Danish "Kierkegaard."

Kiev

Russian

From Russian "Киев" (Kíjev), ultimately tracing back to Old East Slavic; the spelling "Kyiv," based on the Ukrainian form, is now preferred internationally.

kif

Arabic

From Moroccan Arabic "kīf," ultimately from Arabic "kayf" meaning "pleasure" or "joy."

kike

Latin · 1900

Origins are disputed. One theory traces it to Yiddish קײַקל (kaykl, "circle"): early 20th-century Jewish immigrants to the US who could not write in Latin script reportedly signed documents with a circle rather than an X, to avoid anything resembling a cross. Other theories point to a contraction of the phrase "Ikey-Kikey" or to Scots keek ("to peek"), tied to clothing-industry espionage. No theory is universally accepted.

kiki

Origin

Origin uncertain — possibly imitative of giggling, and popularized in LGBTQ ballroom culture.

Kiko

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese きこ (Kiko).

Kikuchi

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 菊池 (Kikuchi).

Kilimanjaro

Origin

Unclear, but most likely from Swahili kilima (“hill”) + njaro.

kill

Old English

From Middle English "killen," of uncertain deeper origin, possibly related to Old English "cwellan" (to kill, the source of "quell") or an Old Norse word meaning "to strike."

killed

Origin

Past-tense/adjectival form of "kill."

killer

Middle English

From Middle English "killer/kyller," formed from "kill" + the agent suffix "-er."

Killian

Irish

An anglicized spelling of Irish Cillian.

killing

Middle English

From Middle English "kyllyng," the noun/adjective form of "kill."

killjoy

Origin · 1700

A straightforward compound of "kill" + "joy," first recorded in the late 18th century.

kiln

Latin

From Old English cyln, itself borrowed from Latin culina, "kitchen." The modern spelling keeps the old "-ln" ending that most similar words (like "mill") smoothed away over time.

kilocalorie

Origin

From kilo- + calorie.

kilogram

French

Borrowed from French kilogramme, built from Greek-derived kilo- ("thousand") plus gramme ("small weight").

kilohertz

Origin

From kilo- + hertz.

kilometer

Origin

From kilo- + meter.

kilometre

French

From French kilomètre, combining Greek khilioi ("thousand") with metron ("measure").

Kilroy

Irish

Derived from Irish Mac Giolla Ruaidh.

kilt

Middle English

From Middle English kilten ("to tuck up"), tracing back to Old Norse kjalta ("skirt, lap") — the same root that gave English the word "child."

Kim

Origin

Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name.