K, (k), the eleventh letter of the English alphabet, is nonvocal
consonant. The form and sound of the letter K are from the Latin, which
used the letter but little except in the early period of the language.
It came into the Latin from the Greek, which received it from a
Phœnician source, the ultimate origin probably being Egyptian.
Etymologically K is most nearly related to c, g, h (which see).
In many words of one syllable k is used after c, as in crack, check,
deck, being necessary to exhibit a correct pronunciation in the
derivatives, cracked, checked, decked, cracking; since without it, c,
before the vowels e and i, would be sounded like s. Formerly, k was
added to c in certain words of Latin origin, as in musick, publick,
republick; but now it is omitted.
See Guide to Pronunciation , §§ 240, 178, 179, 185.
Kaa"ma (?), n. (Zoöl.) The hartbeest.
Kab"a*la (?), n. See Cabala.
Ka*bas"sou (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Cabassou.
Ka*bob" (?), n. & v. t. See Cabob, n. & v. t.
Ka*book" (?), n. (min.) A clay ironstone found in Ceylon.
Ka*byle" (?), n. [Ar. qabla.] (Ethnol.) A Berber, as in Algiers or
Tunis. See Berber.
Kad"der (?), n. [Cf. Caddow.] (Zoöl.) The jackdaw.
{ Ka"di (?), Ka`di*as"ter (?), } n. A Turkish judge. See Cadi.
Ka*fal" (?), n. (Bot.) The Arabian name of two trees of the genus
Balsamodendron, which yield a gum resin and a red aromatic wood.
{ Kaf"fir (kf"fr), Ka"fir (kä"fr), } n. [Ar. kfir infidel, pagan, fr.
kafara to be skeptical in religious matters; -- a name given to certain
infidel races by the Mohammedans. Cf. Giaour.] (Ethnol.) (a) One of a
race which, with the Hottentots and Bushmen, inhabit South Africa. They
inhabit the country north of Cape Colony, the name being now
specifically applied to the tribes living between Cape Colony and
Natal; but the Zulus of Natal are true Kaffirs. (b) One of a race
inhabiting Kafiristan in Central Asia. [Spelt also Caffre.]
Kaffir corn (Bot.), a Cape Colony name for Indian millet.
Kaf"fle (?), n. See Coffle.
||Ka"fi*lah (?), n. See Cafila.
||
Kaf"tan (?), n & v. See Caftan.
Kage (?), n. A chantry chapel inclosed with lattice or screen work.
||Ka"gu (?), n. (Zoöl.) A singular, crested, grallatorial bird
||(Rhinochetos jubatus), native of New Caledonia. It is gray above,
||paler beneath, and the feathers of the wings and tail are handsomely
||barred with brown, black, and gray. It is allied to the sun bittern.
||
Ka`gu*an" (?), n. (Zoöl.) The colugo.
||Ka"ha"ni (?), n. A kind of notary public, or attorney, in the Levant.
||
Ka*hau" (?), n. [Native name, from its cry.] (Zoöl.) A long-nosed
monkey (Semnopithecus nasalis), native of Borneo. The general color of
the body is bright chestnut, with the under parts, shoulders, and sides
of the head, golden yellow, and the top of the head and upper part of
the back brown. Called also proboscis monkey. [Written also kaha.]
Kail (?), n. 1. (Bot.) A kind of headless cabbage. Same as Kale, 1.