OED "K"
Terms
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- Kabbalah
- the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, first transmitted orally and using esoteric methods (including ciphers). Reached the height of its influence in the later Middle Ages and remains significant in Hasidism
- kabuki
- trad. Japanese drama with highly stylized song, mime, and dance, now performed only by male actors, using exaggerated gestures and body movements to express emotions, and including historical plays, domestic dramas, and dance pieces.
- kaffeeklatsch
-
an informal social gathering at which coffee is served
2 talking or gossip at such gatherings - Kaffir
- [S. African] an insulting and contemptuous term for a black African.
- kaffiyeh
- a Bedouin Arab's kerchief worn as a headdress.
- Kafkaesque
- characterstic or reminiscent of the oppressive or nightmarish qualities of the fictional world of Franz Kafka
- kahuna
-
(in hawaii) a wise man or shaman.
2 an important person; the person in charge
3 in surfing: a very large wave - kaiser
- the German emperor, the emperor of Austria, or the head of the Holy Roman Empire
- kanaka
-
a native of Hawaii
2 formerly, a Pacific Islander employed as an indentured laborer in Australia, esp. in the sugar and cotton plantations of Queensland - kangaroo court
-
an unofficial court held by a group of people in order to try someone regarded, esp. w/o good evidence, as guilty of a crime or misdemeanor.
2 an unfair or irregular court - karat
- a measure of the purity of gold, pure gold being 24 karats.
- karst
- landscape underlain by limestone that has been eroded by dissolution, producing ridges, towers, fissures, sinkholes, and other characteristic landforms.
- katabatic
- (of a wind) caused by local downward motion of cool air. The opposite (upward, warm) movement is called anabatic.
- keelhaul
-
punish someone by dragging him or her through the water under the keel of a ship, either across the width or from bow to stern.
2 punish or reprimand severely. - keratin
- fibrous protein forming the main structural constituent of hair, feathers, hoofs, claws, horns, etc.
- kermes
-
a red dye used, esp. formerly, for coloring fabrics and manuscripts
2 the dried bodes of a female scale insect, which are crushed to yield this die - kermis
-
a summer fail held in towns and villages in the Netherlands
2 a fair or carnival, esp. one held to raise money for a charity. - kern
-
adjust spacing between letters in a piece of text
2 light-armed Irish foot solider
3 a peasant, a rustic - ketch
- a two-masted, fore-and-aft rigged sailboat with a mizzenmast stepped forward of the rudder and smaller than the foremast.
- key
- a low-lying island or reef, esp. in the Caribbean
- Keynesian
- of or pertaining to the English economist John Maynard Keyes (1883-1946) or his economic theories, esp. regarding state control of the economy through money and taxes.
- keystone
-
a central stone at the summit of an arch, locking the whole together
2 central principles or part of a policy, system, etc. on which all else depends - khan
- a title given to rulers and officials in central Asia, Afghanistan, and certain other Muslim countries.
- kibbutz
- a communal sttlement in Israel, typically a farm
- kibitz
-
look on and offer unwelcome advice, esp. at a card game
2 speak informally, chat - kinesics
-
the study of the way in which certain body movements and gestures serve as a form of nonverbal communications
2 certain body movements and gestures regarded in such a way - kinesiology
- the study of the mechanics of body movements
- kinesthesia
- awareness of the position and movement of the parts of the body by means of sensory organs (proprioceptors) in the muscles and joints.
- kinetic
-
of, relating to, or resulting from motion.
2 (of a work of art) depending on movement for its effect. - kismet
- destiny; fate
- kitchen cabinet
- a group of unofficial advisers to the holder of an elected office (esp. the president) who are considered to be unduly influential.
- kite
- write or use (a check, bill, or receipt) fraudulently
- kith
- one's friends, acquaintances, and relations
- kitsch
- art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.
- klatch
- social gathering, esp. for food and conversation
- knell
-
sound of a bell, esp. when rung solemnly for a death or funeral
2 used with reference to an announcement, event, or sound that is regarded as a solemn warning of the end of something: "death knell"
3 prolcaim something by or as if by a knell - knickerbocker
-
loose-fitting trousers gathered at the knee or calf
2 a New Yorker
3 a descendant of the original Dutch settles in New York - knurl
- a small projecting knob or ridge, esp. in a series around the edge of something
- kremlin
- a citadel within a Russian town.
- kulak
- a peasant in Russia wealthy enough to own a farm and hire labor. Emerging after the emancipation of serfs in the 19th C., the kulaks resisted Stalin's forced collectivization, and millions were arrested, exiled, or killed.
- kvetch
-
a person who complains a great deal
2 a complaint; complain - Kwanzaa
- a secular festival observed by many african Americans from Dec 26th to Jan 1 as a celebration of their cultural heritage and traditional values.
- kwashiorkor
- a form of malnutrition caused by protein deficiency in the diet, typically affecting young children in the tropics.