kangaroo
kangaroo: n. a plant-eating marsupial of the genus Macropus, native to Australia and New Guinea, with a long tail and strongly developed hind quarters enabling it to travel by jumping. kangaroo closure Brit. Parl. a closure involving the chairperson of a committee selecting some amendments for discussion and excluding others. kangaroo court an improperly constituted or illegal court held by strikers etc. kangaroo mouse any small rodent of the genus Microdipodops, native to N. America, with long hind legs for hopping. kangaroo paw any plant of the genus Angiozanthos, with green and red woolly flowers. kangaroo-rat any burrowing rodent of the genus Dipodomys, having elongated hind feet. kangaroo vine an evergreen climbing plant, Cissus antarctica, with tooth-edged leaves. [Aboriginal name]
kin
kin: n. & adj. --n. one's relatives or family. --predic.adj. (of a person) related (we are kin; he is kin to me) (see also AKIN ). kith and kin see KITH . near of kin closely related by blood, or in character. next of kin see NEXT . kinless adj. [OE cynn f. Gmc]
kelson
kelson: var. of KEELSON.
kindergarten
kindergarten: n. an establishment for preschool learning. [G, = children's garden]
koumiss
koumiss: n. (also kumiss, kumis) a fermented liquor prepared from esp. mare's milk, used by Asian nomads and medicinally. [Tartar kumiz]
kumara
kumara: n. NZ a sweet potato. [Maori]
kersey
kersey: n. (pl. -eys.
1 a kind of coarse narrow cloth woven from long wool, usu. ribbed.
2 a variety of this. [ME, prob. f. Kersey in Suffolk]
kaiser
kaiser: n. hist. an emperor, esp. the German Emperor, the Emperor of Austria, or the head of the Holy Roman Empire. kaisership n. [in mod. Eng. f. G Kaiser and Du. keizer; in ME f. OE casere f. Gmc adoption (through Gk kaisar) of L Caesar: see CAESAR]
kidney
kidney: n. (pl. -eys.
1 either of a pair of organs in the abdominal cavity of mammals, birds, and reptiles, which remove nitrogenous wastes from the blood and excrete urine.
2 the kidney of a sheep, ox, or pig as food.
3 temperament, nature, kind (a man of that kidney; of the right kidney). kidney bea.
1 a dwarf French bean.
2 a scarlet runner bean. kidney dish a kidney-shaped dish, esp. one used in surgery. kidney machine = artificial kidney. kidney-shaped shaped like a kidney, with one side concave and the other convex. kidney vetch a herbaceous plant, Anthyllis vulneraria: also called lady's finger. [ME kidnei, pl. kidneiren, app. partly f. ei EGG(1)]
kelpie
kelpie: n. Sc.
1 a water-spirit, usu. in the form of a horse, reputed to delight in the drowning of travellers etc.
2 an Australian sheepdog orig. bred from a Scottish collie. [18th c.: orig. unkn.]
kedge
kedge: v. & n. --v.
1 tr. move (a ship) by means of a hawser attached to a small anchor.
2 intr. (of a ship) move in this way. --n. (in full kedge-anchor) a small anchor for this purpose. [perh. a specific use of obs. cagge, dial. cadge bind, tie]
kazoo
kazoo: n. a toy musical instrument into which the player sings or hums. [19th c., app. with ref. to the sound produced]
knickers
knickers: n.pl.
1 Brit. a woman's or girl's undergarment covering the body from the waist or hips to the top of the thighs and having leg-holes or separate legs.
2 esp. US a knickerbockers. b a boy's short trousers.
3 (as int.) Brit. sl. an expression of contempt. [abbr. of KNICKERBOCKER]
kenning
kenning: n. a compound expression in Old English and Old Norse poetry, e.g. oar-steed = ship. [ME, = 'teaching' etc. f. KEN]
kraken
kraken: n. a large mythical sea-monster said to appear off the coast of Norway. [Norw.]
kakemono
kakemono: n. (pl. -os) a vertical Japanese wall-picture, usu. painted or inscribed on paper or silk and mounted on rollers. [Jap. f. kake- hang + mono thing]
karabiner
karabiner: n. a coupling link with safety closure, used by mountaineers. [G, lit. 'carbine']
kaftan
kaftan: var. of CAFTAN.
keyboard
keyboard: n. & v. --n. a set of keys on a typewriter, computer, piano, etc. --v.tr. enter (data) by means of a keyboard. keyboarder n.
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