Select a letter for some words
Kafkaesque
Frightening, threating, and bewildering in a vague and unexplicable way; -- of situations or regulations. Often used to describe illogical bureaucratic entanglements with no reasonable solution.
Kaleidoscope
An instrument invented by , which contains loose fragments of colored glass, etc., and reflecting surfaces so arranged that changes of position exhibit its contents in an endless variety of beautiful colors and symmetrical forms. It has been much employed in arts of design.
Kaloyer
See .
Kantian
Of or pertaining to , the German philosopher; conformed or relating to any or all of the philosophical doctrines of .
Karagane
A species of gray fox found in Russia.
Karakul
A type of Astrakhan, esp. in fine grades, obtained from the Karakul sheep. See sense 2 and cf. .
Kate
The brambling finch.
Kayles
A game; ninepins.
Keel
A brewer's cooling vat; a keelfat.
Keelivine
A pencil of black or red lead; -- called also .
Kennel
To put or keep in a kennel.
Kenning
Range of sight.
Keno
A gambling game, a variety of the game of lotto, played with balls or knobs, numbered, and cards also numbered.
Kenyan
A native or inhabitant of Kenya.
Kpviselhaacute;z
See .
Kerasin
A nitrogenous substance free from phosphorus, supposed to be present in the brain; a body closely related to cerebrin.
Keratose
A tough, horny animal substance entering into the composition of the skeleton of sponges, and other invertebrates; -- called also .
Kerf
A notch, channel, or slit made in any material by cutting or sawing.
Kermes
The dried bodies of the females of a scale insect ( formerly ), allied to the cochineal insect, and found on several species of oak near the Mediterranean; also, the dye obtained from them. They are round, about the size of a pea, contain coloring matter analogous to carmine, and are used in dyeing. They were anciently thought to be of a vegetable nature, and were used in medicine.
Kerver
A carver.
Kesar
See .
Kess
To kiss.
Ketch
An almost obsolete form of sailing vessel, with a mainmast and a mizzenmast, -- usually from one hundred to two hundred and fifty tons burden.
Key fruit
A samara.
Key tone
See .
Khanate
Dominion or jurisdiction of a khan.
Kiabooca wood
See .
Kibed
Chapped; cracked with cold; affected with chilblains; .
Kichil
See .
Kickapoos
A tribe of Indians which formerly occupied the region of Northern Illinois, allied in language to the Sacs and Foxes.
Kidde
of .
kidskin
A soft smooth leather from the hide of a young goat; kid{3}.
Killifish
Any one of several small American cyprinodont fishes of the genus and allied genera. They live equally well in fresh and brackish water, or even in the sea. They are usually striped or barred with black. Called also , and . See .
Kiln-dry
To dry in a kiln; .
kilter
Regular order or proper condition. Same as , but is the more common spelling in the U. S. Used chiefly in the phrase , meaning out of order or irregular in some manner.
-kin
A diminutive suffix; .
Kincob
India silk brocaded with flowers in silver or gold.
Kindle
To take fire; to begin to burn with flame; to start as a flame.
Kinematics
The science which treats of motions considered in themselves, or apart from their causes; the comparison and relation of motions.
Kinesitherapy
See .
Kingfisher
Any one of numerous species of birds constituting the family . 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.
Kingship
The state, office, or dignity of a king; royalty.
Kipper
Amorous; also, lively; light-footed; nimble; gay; sprightly.
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.
Kismet
Destiny; fate.
Kissing bug
Any one of several species of blood-sucking, venomous Hemiptera that sometimes bite the lip or other parts of the human body, causing painful sores, as the cone-nose ().
Kit
To cut.
Kitchen
A room equipped for cooking food; the room of a house, restaurant, or other building appropriated to cookery.
kitchenware
Implements for use in a kitchen, or for cooking, such as pots, pans, ladles, measuring cups, etc.
Kite
To raise money by kites; .
Kitish
Like or relating to a kite.
Kiva
A large chamber built under, or in, the houses of a Pueblo village, used as an assembly room in religious rites or as a men's dormitory. It is commonly lighted and entered from an opening in the roof.
Kjoekken moeddings
See .
Kloof
A glen; a ravine closed at its upper end.
Klopemania
See .
Knack
To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink.
Knap
A sharp blow or slap.
Knappish
Snappish; peevish.
Knappy
Having knaps; full of protuberances or humps; knobby.
Knapsack
A case of canvas, leather, nylon, or other sturdy fabric, fitted with straps, for carrying on the back the food, clothing, or other supplies for a soldier or a traveler; .
knavishness
The quality or state of being knavish; knavery; dishonesty.
knead
To perform movements like kneading, with the paws; -- said of cats, which may knead{3} a master's body when stroked, presumably a sign of contentment; .
Kneebrush
A tuft or brush of hair on the knees of some species of antelopes and other animals; -- chiefly used in the plural.
Knee-crooking
Obsequious; fawning; cringing.
Kneepan
A roundish, flattened, sesamoid bone in the tendon in front of the knee joint; the patella; the kneecap.
Knobstick
One who refuses to join, or withdraws from, a .
Knockings
Large lumps picked out of the sieve, in dressing ore.
Knock-off
Act or place of knocking off; that which knocks off;
Knoll
To ring, as a bell; to strike a knell upon; to toll; to proclaim, or summon, by ringing.
Knoll
The tolling of a bell; a knell.
Knop
A knob; a bud; a bunch; a button.
Knot
To form knots or joints, as in a cord, a plant, etc.; to become entangled.
Knowa bleness
The state or quality of being knowable.
Knowing
Skilful; well informed; intelligent;
Kobalt
See .
Kobold
A kind of domestic spirit in German mythology, corresponding to the Scottish brownie and the English .
Koel
Any one of several species of cuckoos of the genus , found in India, the East Indies, and Australia. They deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds.
Koellia
The genus comprising the American mountain mint, synonymous with .
Kohl-rabi
A variety of cabbage, in which the edible part is a large, turnip-shaped swelling of the stem, above the surface of the ground.
Kokama
The gemsbok.
Koklass
Any pheasant of the genus . The birds of this genus inhabit India and China, and are distinguished by having a long central and two lateral crests on the head. Called also .
Konite
See .
Koordish
See .
Kosher
Kosher food; also, a kosher shop.
Kotow
The prostration made by mandarins and others to their superiors, either as homage or worship, by knocking the forehead on the ground; a kowtow. There are degrees in the rite, the highest being expressed by three knockings.
Kukang
The slow lemur. See .
Kulturkampf
Lit., culture war; -- a name, originating with (1821 - 1902), given to a struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the German government, chiefly over the latter's efforts to control educational and ecclesiastical appointments in the interest of the political policy of centralization. The struggle began with the passage by the Prussian Diet in May, 1873, of the so-called , or , aiming at the regulation of the clergy. Opposition eventually compelled the government to change its policy, and from 1880 to 1887 laws virtually nullifying the May laws were enacted.
kurchatovium
A transuranic element of atomic number 104, symbol ; also called , symbol . It is produced in very small quantities by nuclear reactions. In November 1993 the nomenclature committe of the American Chemical Society approved the name for element 104. Russsian investigators who claim to have first discovered element 104, isotope 260 (half-life 0.3 seconds) in 1964 at Dubna proposed the name . However, investigators at Berkely in 1969 produced several isotopes of element 104 but were unable to produce isotope 260; they reported finding isotope 257, with a half-life of 4-5 seconds, isotope 259 with a half-life of 3-4 seconds, and isotope 258 with a shorter half-life.
Kyanite
See .
Kymnel
See .