Loading earlier words…
Kindness

The state or quality of being kind, in any of its various senses; manifestation of kind feeling or disposition beneficence.

Kindred

Related; congenial; of the like nature or properties; as, kindred souls; kindred skies; kindred propositions.

Kine Kin

The unit velocity in the C. G. S. system -- a velocity of one centimeter per second.

Kinematics

The science which treats of motions considered in themselves, or apart from their causes; the comparison and relation of motions.

Kinesiatrics

A mode of treating disease by appropriate muscular movements; -- also termed kinesitherapy, kinesipathy, lingism, and the movement cure.

Kinesodic

Conveying motion; as, kinesodic substance; -- applied esp. to the spinal cord, because it is capable of conveying doth voluntary and reflex motor impulses, without itself being affected by motor impulses applied to it directly.

kinesthetics

The ability to feel movements of the limbs and body.

kinetic

Moving or causing motion; motory; active, as opposed to latent.

kinetogenesis

The doctrine or hypothesis that animal structures have been produced, directly or indirectly, by animal movements.

kinetograph

A camera for making chronophotographs. A machine for the projection of chronophotographs upon a screen for the purpose of producing the effect of an animated picture. A combined animated-picture machine and phonograph in which sounds appropriate to the scene are automatically uttered by the latter instrument. It has been superseded by recording techniques allowing the sounds to be recorded directly on the motion-picture film.

kinetophone

A machine combining a kinetoscope and a phonograph synchronized so as to reproduce a scene and its accompanying sounds. It has been superseded by recording techniques allowing the sounds to be recorded directly on the motion-picture film.

kinetoscope

An instrument for producing curves by the combination of circular movements; -- called also kinescope.

Kinetoscope

An obsolete form of moving picture viewer, in which a film carrying successive instantaneous views of a moving scene travels uniformly through the field of a magnifying glass. The observer sees each picture, momentarily, through a slit in a revolving disk, and these glimpses, blended by persistence of vision, give the impression of continuous motion. It has been superseded by more recent versions of movie projector and electronic video viewers.

kinfolk

Relatives; kindred; kin; kinsfolk; persons of the same family or closely related families.

King

To supply with a king; to make a king of; to raise to royalty.

King Charles spaniel

A variety of small pet dogs, having, drooping ears, a high, dome-shaped forehead, pug nose, large, prominent eyes, and long, wavy hair. The color is usually black and tan.

King-post

A member of a common form of truss, as a roof truss. It is strictly a tie, intended to prevent the sagging of the tiebeam in the middle. If there are struts, supporting the main rafters, they often bear upon the foot of the king-post. Called also crown-post.

King's Bench

Formerly, the highest court of common law in England; -- so called because the king used to sit there in person. It consisted of a chief justice and four puisne, or junior, justices. During the reign of a queen it was called the Queen's Bench. Its jurisdiction was transferred by the judicature acts of 1873 and 1875 to the high court of justice created by that legislation.

Kingbird

A small American bird (Tyrannus tyrannus, or Tyrannus Carolinensis), noted for its courage in attacking larger birds, even hawks and eagles, especially when they approach its nest in the breeding season. It is a typical tyrant flycatcher, taking various insects upon the wing. It is dark ash above, and blackish on the bead and tail. The quills and wing coverts are whitish at the edges. It is white beneath, with a white terminal band on the tail. The feathers on the head of the adults show a bright orange basal spot when erected. Called also bee bird, and bee martin. Several Southern and Western species of Tyrannus are also called king birds.

Kingbolt

A vertical iron bolt, by which the forward axle and wheels of a vehicle or the trucks of a railroad car are connected with the other parts.

Kingcraft

The craft of kings; the art of governing as a sovereign; royal policy.

Kingdom

The rank, quality, state, or attributes of a king; royal authority; sovereign power; rule; dominion; monarchy.

Kingdomed

Having a kingdom or the dignity of a king; like a kingdom.

Kingfish

An American marine food fish of the genus Menticirrus, especially Menticirrus saxatilis, or Menticirrus nebulosos, of the Atlantic coast; -- called also whiting, surf whiting, and barb. The opah. The common cero; also, the spotted cero. See Cero. The queenfish.

Kingfisher

Any one of numerous species of birds constituting the family Alcedinid/. Most of them feed upon fishes which they capture by diving and seizing them with the beak; others feed only upon reptiles, insects, etc. About one hundred and fifty species are known. They are found in nearly all parts of the world, but are particularly abundant in the East Indies.

Kinghood

The state of being a king; the attributes of a king; kingship.

Kinglet

A little king; a weak or insignificant king.

Kingly

In a kingly or kinglike manner.

Kingship

The state, office, or dignity of a king; royalty.

Kingston metal

An alloy of tin, copper, and mercury, sometimes used for the bearings and packings of machinery.

Kingston valve

A conical valve, opening outward, to close the mouth of a pipe which passes through the side of a vessel below the water line.

Kingtruss

A truss, framed with a king-post; -- used in roofs, bridges, etc.

Kinit

A unit of force equal to the force which, acting for one second, will give a pound a velocity of one foot per second; -- proposed by J. D. Everett, an English physicist.

Kink

A fit of coughing; also, a convulsive fit of laughter.

Kinkajou

A nocturnal carnivorous mammal (Cercoleptes caudivolvulus) of South America, about as large as a full-grown cat. It has a prehensile tail and lives in trees. It is the only representative of a distinct family (Cercoleptid/) allied to the raccoons. Called also potto, and honey bear.

Kinky

Full of kinks; liable to kink or curl; as, kinky hair.

Kinnikinic

Prepared leaves or bark of certain plants; -- used by the Indians of the Northwest for smoking, either mixed with tobacco or as a substitute for it. Also, a plant so used, as the osier cornel (Cornus stolonijra), and the bearberry (Arctostaphylus Uva-ursi).

Kino

The dark red dried juice of certain plants, used variously in tanning, in dyeing, and as an astringent in medicine.

Kinology

That branch of physics which treats of the laws of motion, or of moving bodies.

Kinsfolk

Relatives; kindred; kin; kinfolk; persons of the same family or closely related families.

Kinshasa

the capital city of Zaire, formerly named Leopoldville.

Kinsman

A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.

Kiosk

A Turkish open summer house or pavilion, supported by pillars.

Kioways

A tribe of Indians distantly related to the Shoshones. They formerly inhabited the region about the head waters of the North Platte.

Kip

A sharp-pointed hill; a projecting point, as on a hill.

Kipe

An osier basket used for catching fish.

Kipling

Rudyard Kipling, English author (1865-1936). He was born at Bombay, India in 1865, the son of John Lockwood Kipling, who was formerly head of the Lahore School of Industrial Art. He was educated in England and returned to India in 1880 as editor of the /Lahore Civil and Military Gazette./ He returned to England about 1889, and lived several years in the United States. While in India he published stories, sketches, and poems descriptive of India and Anglo-Indian military and civil life: / Departmental Ditties, etc./, /Plain Tales from the Hills/, /Mine Own People/, /Soldiers Three/, /Barrack-room Ballads, etc./, and others. After leaving India he published /The Light That Failed,/ /Naulahka/ (with Balestier), /Many Inventions,/ /The Jungle Book,/ /The Second Jungle Book,/ /The Seven Seas,/ /Captains Courageous,/ /The White Man's Burden,/ /Kim,/ /The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories,/ and others.

Kiplingesque

Of, pertaining to, or in the style of Rudyard Kipling.

Kipper

Amorous; also, lively; light-footed; nimble; gay; sprightly.

Kippernut

A name given to earthnuts of several kinds.

Kipskin

Leather prepared from the skin of young or small cattle, intermediate in grade between calfskin and cowhide.

Kirghizia

A country in Central Asia, formerly an Asian Soviet. It borders on Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, and Tajikistan.

Kirk

A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church.

Kirmess

In Europe, particularly in Belgium and Holland, and outdoor festival and fair; in the United States, generally an indoor entertainment and fair combined.

Kirschwasser

An alcoholic liquor, obtained by distilling the fermented juice of the small black cherry.

Kirtle

A garment varying in form and use at different times, and worn both by men and women.

Kirumbo

A bird of Madagascar (Leptosomus discolor), the only living type of a family allied to the rollers. It has a pair of loral plumes. The male is glossy green above, with metallic reflections; the female is spotted with brown and black.

Kish

A workman's name for the graphite which forms incidentally in iron smelting.

Kislev

the third month of the Jewish civil year; the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar, occupying a part of November and a part of December.

Kiss

To make or give salutation with the lips in token of love, respect, etc.; as, kiss and make friends.

kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate

An annual (Polygonum orientale) with broadly ovate leaves and slender drooping spikes of crimson flowers; it is native to Southeastern Asia and Australia, and naturalized in North America.

Kissingcrust

The portion of the upper crust of a loaf which has touched another loaf in baking.

Kist

A stated payment, especially a payment of rent for land; hence, the time for such payment.

kistvaen

A Celtic monument, commonly known as a dolmen.

Kit

A large bottle.

kitambilla

A small shrubby spiny tree (Dovyalis hebecarpa) cultivated for its maroon-purple fruit with sweet purple pulp tasking like gooseberries; it is native to Sri Lanka and India.

kitbag

a knapsack (usually for a soldier).

Kitcat

A game played by striking with a stick small piece of wood, called a cat, shaped like two cones united at their bases; tipcat.

Kitchen

To furnish food to; to entertain with the fare of the kitchen.

Kitchen middens

Relics of neolithic man found on the coast of Denmark, consisting of shell mounds, some of which are ten feet high, one thousand feet long, and two hundred feet wide. The name is applied also to similar mounds found on the American coast from Canada to Florida, made by the North American Indians.

Kitchenette

A room combining a very small kitchen and a pantry, with the kitchen conveniences compactly arranged, sometimes so that they fold up out of sight and allow the kitchen to be made a part of the adjoining room by opening folding doors.

Kitchenry

The body of servants employed in the kitchen; the staff of a kitchen.

kitchenware

Implements for use in a kitchen, or for cooking, such as pots, pans, ladles, measuring cups, etc.

Kiteflier Kiteflying

A mode of raising money, or sustaining one's credit, by the use of paper which is merely nominal; -- called also kiting. See Kite, n., 6.

Kith

Acquaintance; kindred.

Kithe Kythe

To make known; to manifest; to show; to declare.

Kitish

Like or relating to a kite.

Kitten

To bring forth young, as a cat; to bring forth, as kittens.

kitten-tails

a plant of the genus Besseya having fluffy spikes of flowers.

kittenish

Resembling a kitten; playful; as, a kittenish disposition.

Kittiwake

A northern gull (Rissa tridactyla), inhabiting the coasts of Europe and America. It is white, with black tips to the wings, and has only three toes.

Loading more words…