# An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/K (full text)

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K.
Kabel, n. and f., from the equiv. MidHG. kabel, f. and n., ‘cable’; the latter borrowed, through the medium of Du. and LG., from Fr. câble, m., ‘rope, cable’ (MidLat. capulum); E. cable and Scand. kabill, from the same source.
Kabliau, Kabeljau, m., ‘cod-fish,’ first occurs in early ModHG., recorded in LG. from the 15th cent. and adopted by the literary language; from Du. kabeljaauw; Swed. kabeljo, Dan. kabeljau, E. cabliau; also, with a curious transposition of consonants (see Essig, kitzeln, Kitze), Du. bakeljauw, which is based upon Basque baccallaóa. The Basques were the first cod-fishers (espec. on the coast of Newfoundland, the chief fishing-place). See Labberdan.
Kabuse, f., ‘small hut, partition, caboose,’ ModHG. only, from MidLG. kabhûse; comp. E. caboose, which was probably introduced as a naval term into Du., kabuys, and into Fr., cambuse. The stem of the E. word is probably the same as in E. cabin, and hence is Kelt.; E. cabin and the cognate Fr. cabane, cabinet, are based upon W. kaban. The cognates also suggest ModHG. Käster, ‘small chamber,’ and OHG. chafterî, ‘beehive,’ the origin of which is obscure.
Kachel, f., ‘earthen vessel, stove-tile,’ from MidHG. kachel, kachele, f., ‘earthen vessel, earthenware, stove-tile, lid of a pot,’ OHG. chahhala. In E. the word became obsolete at an early period. In Du., kachel, borrowed from HG., is still current (in MidDu. kakele).
kacken, vb., ‘to cack, go to stool,’ early ModHG. only. Probably coined by schoolboys and students by affixing a G. termination to Lat.-Gr. caccare (κακκᾶν; allied to κακός?. Comp. MidHG. quât, ‘evil, bad, dirt’); the OTeut. words are scheißen and dial. drißen. In Slav. too there are terms similar in sound, Bohem. kakati, Pol. kakác. The primit. kinship of the G. word, however, with Gr., Lat., and Slav. is inconceivable, because the initial k in the latter would appear as h in Teut.
Käfer, m., ‘beetle, chafer,’ from the equiv. MidHG. këver, këfere, OHG. chëvar, chëvaro, m.; comp. AS. čeafor, E. chafer, Du. kever, m. The Goth. term was probably *kifra, or following AS. ceafor, *kafrus also (comp. LG. kavel). The name, which has the same import in all the dialects at ​their different periods, signifies ‘gnawing animal’ (comp. MidHG. kifen, kiffen, ‘to gnaw, chew,’ MidHG. kiffel under Kiefer), or ‘husk animal,’ from OHG. chëva, ‘husk,’ MidHG. kaf, E. chaff (AS. čeaf).
Kaffer, ‘uneducated person,’ prop. a student's term, from Arab. kâfîr, ‘unbeliever.’
Käfig, m. and n., ‘cage, gaol,’ from MidHG. kęvje, m., f., and n., ‘cage (for wild animals and birds),’ also ‘prison’; the j of the MidHG. word became g (comp. Ferge and Scherge). OHG. chęvia, f., is derived from Low Lat. cávia, Lat. cặvea, ‘birdcage’ (respecting HG. f for Lat. v, comp. Pferd, Vers, and Verdikt), whence also ModHG. Kaue. Allied to the Rom. words, Ital. gabbia, gaggia, Fr. cage (hence E. cage), and Ital. gabbiuolo, Fr. geôle (E. jail, gaol), ‘prison.’ Further, Bauer first obtained the meaning ‘cage’ in MidHG.
Käfter, n., comp. Kabuse; the meaning ‘little chamber’ is ModHG. only; in OHG. chafteri, ‘beehive,’ Suab. Kâft, ‘student's room’. Allied to AS. ceafortûn, ‘hall’.
kahl, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. kal (gen. kalwer), ‘bald,’ OHG. chalo (gen. chalwêr, chalawêr); comp. Du. kaal, AS. calu, E. callow. Probably borrowed from Lat. calvus (Sans. khalvâta, ‘bald-headed’), whence Fr. chauve, since Lat. crispus and capillare have also been introduced into Teut.; comp. AS. cyrsp, E. crisp, OHG. and MidHG. krisp, ‘curly,’ and Goth. kapillôn, ‘to crop one's hair.’ Probably the Teutons and the Romans were equally struck by each other's method of wearing the hair. Other etymologists are inclined to connect Teut. kalwa- with OSlov. golŭ, ‘bare, naked.’
Kahm, Kahn, m., ‘mould on fermented liquids,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kâm (kân); comp. Ic. kám, n., ‘thin coating of dust, dirt,’ E. coom, ‘soot, coal dust’ (with i mutation, E. keam, keans); Goth. *kema-, *kemi-. The root ka- is inferred from MidHG. ka-del, m., ‘soot, dirt.’ Der. ̣kahmig, adj., ‘mouldy’ (of wine).
Kahn, m., ‘boat, skiff, wherry,’ ModHG. only (strictly unknown to UpG. and Rhen., as in the case of Boot; in UpG. Nachen); from LG. kane, Du. kaan; comp. OIc. kœ́na, f., ‘a kind of boat.’ OIc. kane signifies ‘wooden vessel,’ whence the meaning ‘boat’ might be evolved according to the analogies adduced under Schiff; comp. Dan. kane, with a somewhat different sense ‘sleigh.’ LG. kane looks like a metathesis of AS. naca (comp. fißeln and Ziege). From the Teut. cognates, OFr. cane, ‘ship, is derived, but hardly so ModFr. canot, which is of American origin.
Kaiser, m., ‘emperor,’ from the equiv. MidHG. keiser, OHG. keisar; corresponding to AS. câsêre, Goth. kaisar. The ai of the ModHG. orthography originated in the Bav. and Aust. chancery of Maximilian I., in which the MidHG. ei necessarily became ai (according to the lexicographer Helvig, A.D. 1620, Meissen Sax. Keiser was Bohem.-Bav. Kayser). The ae of Lat. Caesar, upon which the word is based, cannot be made responsible for the ModHG. ai. Moreover, the relation of Lat. ai to Goth.-Teut. ai is not explained. The Romans, it is true, used ae for ai in Teut. words, comp. Lat. gaesum, under Ger; yet the use of Teut. ê to represent ae in Lat. Graecus (Goth. Krêks, OHG. Chriah, ‘Greek’) is opposed to this. At the same period as the adoption of the names Grieche and Römer (Goth. Rûmôneis), i.e., the beginning of our era, the Teutons must have borrowed the Lat. term, connecting it chiefly with Caius Julius Cæsar (similarly the Slavs use the name Karl der Große of Charlemagne, in the sense of ‘king’; OSlav. kraljǐ, Russ. korolǐ, whence Lith. karálius, ‘king’); yet not until the Roman emperors adopted the title Cæsar could this word, which probably existed previously in Teut., assume the meaning ‘emperor,’ while the Romance nations adhered to the Lat. title imperator; comp. Fr. empereur. OSlov. césarǐ (in Russ. contracted Car) is derived through a G. medium (which also elucidates MidE. and OIc. keiser) from Cæsar. Thus Kaiser is the earliest Lat. word borrowed by Teut. (see Hanf). For a Kelt loan-word meaning ‘king’ see under Reich.
Kajüte, f., ‘cabin,’ early ModHG., from LG. kajüte, Du. kajuit, Fr. cajute. The origin of the group is obscure, but is hardly to be assigned to Teut.
Kalander, m., ‘weevil,’ from the equiv. LG. and Du. kalander (comp. Fr. calandre).
Kalb, n., ‘calf,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kalp (b), OHG. chalb (plur. chalbir), n.; comp. AS. cealf, E. calf, Du. kalf, OIc. kalfr, m.; Goth. has only a fem. kalbô (OHG. chalba, MidHG. kalbe), ‘heifer over a year old that has not calved.’ MidHG. kilbere, f., OHG. chilburra, f., ‘ewe lamb,’ is in a different stage of gradation; comp. AS. cilforlamb, ‘ewe lamb,’ and ModHG. dial. Kilber (Swiss), ‘young ram,’ (E. dial. ​chilver). In the non-Teut. languages there is a series of words with the phonetic base glbh-, denoting ‘the young of animals.’ Comp. Sans. gárbha, ‘covey,’ also ‘child, offspring’; in the sense of ‘mother's lap’ the Ind. word suggests Gr. δελφύς, ‘womb,’ and its derivative ἀδελφός, ‘brother’; comp. also δέλφαξ, ‘pig, porker.’ To the a of the Teut. word o in Gr. δολφός ἡ μήτρα, ‘the womb,’ corresponds.
Kaldaunen, f. plur., ‘intestines,’ from MidHG. and MidLG. kaldûne; a MidHG. and LG. word (in UpG. Kutteln). It is based upon a Rom. and MidLat. caldûmen, a derivative of Lat. calidus (caldus) ‘warm,’ meaning chiefly ‘the still reeking entrails of newly slaughtered animals’; comp. South-West Fr. chaudin, Bologn. caldôm, ‘entrails.’ From East Rom. (and G.?) the word found its way also into Slav.; comp. Czech kaldoun, ‘entrails,’ Croat. kalduni, ‘lung.’
Kalender, m., ‘calendar,’ from MidHG. kalender (with the variant kalenḍenœre), m.; the latter comes from Lat. calendarium, but is accented like calendae.
kalfatern, vb., ‘to caulk a ship,’ from Du. kalefateren; the latter is derived from Fr. calfater.
Kalk, m., ‘lime,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kalc, kalkes, OHG. chalch, m. The ModHG. variant Kalch (occurring in UpG. and MidG.) is based upon OHG. chalh for chalah (hh). Allied to AS. čealc; but E. chalk has assumed a divergent sense, just as MidHG. kalc means both ‘lime’ and ‘white-wash.’ The cognates are derived from the Lat. acc. calcem (nom. calx), and were borrowed at a very early period, as is indicated by the initial k, or rather c of the HG. and E. words, for somewhat later loan-words such as Kreuz (from crucem) have z for Lat. c; c remains as k in old loanwords such as Kaiser, Goth. lukarna, from Lat. lucerna, Keller, from cellarium. The Teutons became acquainted through the Itals. both with the name and thing about the same period as with Mauer and Ziegel (Tünche).
Kalm, m., ‘calm,’ of LG. origin; LG. kalm, E. calm; based on the Fr. calme.
Kalmank, Kalmang, m., from E. calamanco, Fr. calmande, f., all with the same meaning, ‘fine woollen stuff.’ MidLat. calamancus may be derived from the East.
Kalmäuser, m., ‘moping fellow,’ simply ModHG., of obscure origin; the second part of the compound is exactly the same as in Duckmäuser, which see.
kalt, adj., ‘cold,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. kalt (gen. kaltes): corresponding to AS. ceald, cald, E. cold, OIc. kaldr, Goth. kalds,; an old partic. formation corresponding to the Lat. vbs. in -tus, Sans. ta-s (Goth. d from Aryan t), as in alt, laut, todt, traut, zart, &c. kal- as the root appears in a stronger stage of gradation in ModHG. kühl, and in a weaker stage in OIc. kulde, ‘cold.’ In OIc. and AS. the str. vb. of which ModHG. kalt and OIc. keldr are partics. is retained; Scand. kala, ‘to freeze,’ AS. calan, ‘to freeze’; allied to Swiss χale, ‘to cool,’ and hence ‘curdle.’ Note ModE. chill from AS. čyle (from čęli, kali). The root is identical with that of Lat. gelu, ‘frost,’ gelâre, ‘to congeal,’ gelidus, ‘cold.’
Kamel, n., ‘camel,’ from Lat. camêlus; in MidHG. kemmel, këmel, which point to the Byzantine and ModGr. pronunciation of Gr. κάμηλος, and hence to κάμιλος (the e of kemel is produced by i- mutation from a). The ModHG. word is a more recent scholarly term, borrowed anew from Lat. (comp. Fr. chameau, Ital. camello), while the MidHG. word was brought back from the Crusades, and hence is due to immediate contact with the East. Moreover, at San Rossore, near Pisa, a breed of camels has existed from the Crusades down to modern times, some of which are exhibited in Europe as curiosities. In the OTeut. period there was, curiously enough, a peculiar word for ‘camel’ current in most of the dialects, which corresponded to Gr. ἐλεφαντ-, Goth. ulbandus, AS. olfend, OHG. olbenta, MidHG. olbent; allied to OSlov. velĭbądŭ, ‘camel.’ The history of this word is quite obscure.
Kamerad, m., ‘comrade, companion,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. camarade (Ital. camerata, ‘society,’ lit. ‘comrades living together in a room,’ then too ‘companion’), whence also E. comrade. OTeut. had a number of terms for ModHG. Kamerad; comp. Geselle, Gesinde, OHG. gidofto, ‘companion’ (comp. Decht and Dost), simply forms illustrative of the OTeut. heroic age, which were partly disused in the MidHG. period in favour of the foreign terms Kumpan and Kamerad.
Kamille, f., ‘camomile,’ from MidHG. kamille, f., which is again derived from MidLat. and Ital. camamilla (Gr. χαμαίαμηλον). ​The term became current in the Middle Ages through medical science, which was learnt from the Greeks (comp. Arzt, Büchse, Pflaster).
Kamin, m., ‘chimney, fireplace, fireside,’ from MidHG. kámîn, kę́mîn; the ModHG. accentuation, which differs from the MidHG., is due to the word being based anew on Lat. camînus, while the latter is due to a German version of the foreign word. E. chimney is Fr. cheminée, ‘chimney, fireplace,’ which is phonetically cognate with MidLat. caminata, prop. ‘room with a stove or fireplace,’ and hence with MidHG. kęminâte (γυναικεῖον); allied also to Czech, Pol., and Russ. komnata, ‘room.’
Kamisol, n., ‘waistcoat, jacket,’ simply ModHG. formed like the Fr. camisole, ‘under-vest’ (allied to MidLat. camisia, ‘shirt’; see Hemd).
Kamm, m., ‘comb,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kam (mm), kamp (b); it signifies ‘comb’ in the widest sense; OHG. chamb; comp. AS. comb, E. comb (also AS. hunigcomb, E. honeycomb?), Goth. *kambs. The term is undoubtedly OTeut.; our ancestors attached great importance to dressing their hair. The lit. meaning of the word is ‘instrument with teeth,’ for in the allied Aryan languages the meaning ‘tooth’ obtains in the cognate words. OHG. chamb is based upon pre-Teut. gombho-; comp. Gr. γομφίος, ‘molar tooth,’ γαμφηλαί, γαμφαί, ‘jaws, beak’; OInd. jambha, m., ‘tusk’ (plural ‘bit’), jambhya, m., ‘incisor,’ OSlov. ząbŭ, ‘tooth’ Gr. γόμφος, ‘plug, bolt,’ points to a wider development of meaning. —
kämmen, vb., ‘to comb, card (wool),’ is a verbal noun; ModHG. kęmmen, OHG. chemben, chęmpen; AS. cęmban. In UpG. the term strählen is current, Strähl too being the word for ‘comb.’
Kammer, f., ‘‘chamber, office,’ fro MidHG. kamer, kamere, f., with the general meaning ‘sleeping apartment, treasury, storeroom, money-chest, royal dwelling, justice chamber,’ &c.; OHG. chamara, f., ‘apartment, palace.’ E. chamber, from Fr. chambre; but the HG. word is based upon a Rom. word (Span. and Port.) camara, ‘room’ (Ital. camera), which again is derived from καμάρα, ‘any enclosed space with a vaulted roof, a term restricted to the more civilised classes in the Middle Ages and current in the Rom. and Teut. groups; comp. further OFr. camra, Slav. komora. The numerous meanings in MidHG. are also indicated by the ModHG. derivatives and compound terms Kämmerer, Kämmerei, and Kammerherr.
Kammertuch, n., ‘cambric,’ manufactured first at Cambray (Du. Kamerijk); corresponding to Du. kamerijksdock.
Kamp, m., a LG. word, comp. Du. (MidDu.) kamp; from Lat. campus?. Kamp, however, has a special sense, ‘enclosed piece of ground, field.’
Kämpe, m., ‘combatant, wrestler,’ first introduced into literary ModHG. by the study of the Teut. languages, yet the special history of the word is not known. The form Indicates a LG. origin; comp. OLG. kęmpio, ‘combatant, warrior.’ Perhaps it was orig. a legal term of the Saxon Code. See Kampf.
Kampf, m., ‘combat,’ from MidHG. kampf, m. and n., ‘combat, duel, tilting’; OHG. champf, m., AS. camp, comp; OIc. kapp, n. The OIc. word is interesting, because it signifies lit. ‘zeal, emulation,’ which is the orig. meaning of Kampf (ModHG. Krieg has gone through a similar development of meaning). Hence there is no probability in the assumption that OTeut. *kampa- is derived from Lat. campus, thus connecting it with Campus Martius. This older assumption receives no support from phonetic laws, for kamp does not look unlike a Teut. word, while the meaning of the Scand. word makes it impossible. We should consider, too, whether the old Teutons, with their numerous terms relating to war, had any need of borrowing such a word. Some connect OTeut. kampo- with Sans. jañg, ‘to fight.’ HG. Kämpfer, and Kämpfe, Kämpe, prop. ‘combatant,’ is MidHG. kęmpfe, OHG. chęmphio, ‘wrestler, duellist’; AS. cęmpa, and OIc. kappe signify ‘warrior, hero’; this term, denoting the agent, passed into Rom. (comp. Fr. champion, whence also E. champion).
Kampfer, m., ‘camphor,’ from MidHG. kampfer, gaffer, m., from MidLat. camphora, cafura (Fr. camphre; Ital. canfora and cafura, ModGr. καφουρά); the latter terms derived finally from Ind. karpûra, kapûr, or from Hebr. kôpher, ‘pitch, resin.’
Kanel, m., ‘cinnamon bark,’ accented on the termination, from MidHG. kanêl, ‘stick or cane of cinnamon’; the word was borrowed in the MidHG. period from Fr. canelle, cannelle, ‘cinnamon bark,’ which is a diminut. of Fr. canne (Lat. canna) ‘cane,’ Ital. canella, ‘tube.’
​ Kaninchen, n., ‘rabbit,’ dimin. of an earlier ModHG. Kanin; it is based upon Lat. cuniculus, which passed into HG. in various forms; MidHG. küniclîn (accented on the first syllable), evidently germanised, also künolt, künlîn, külle. The ModHG. form is based upon a MidLat. variant, caniculus; the form with a is properly restricted to North and Middle Germany, while ü (Künchel) is current in the South. Comp. MidE. coning, E. coney, from Fr. connin (Ital. coniglio).
Kanker (1.), m., ‘spider’ (MidG.), from the equiv. MidHG. kanker (rare), m. The derivation of the word from Lat. cancer, ‘crab’, is, for no other reason than the meaning, impossible. It seems to be based upon an OTeut. vb. ‘to weave, spin.’ This is indicated by the OIc. kǫngulváfa, kǫngurváfa, ‘spider’; AS. gongelwœ̂fre, ‘spider,’ must also be based upon a similar word; its apparent meaning, ‘the insect that weaves as it goes along,’ is probably due to a popular corruption of the obscure first component. We should thus get a prim. Teut. stem kang, ‘to spin,’ which in its graded form appears in ModHG. Kunkel. his stem has been preserved in the non-Teut. languages only in a Finn. loan-word; comp. Finn. kangas, ‘web’ (Goth. *kaggs).
Kanker (2.), m., ‘canker,’ from OHG. chanchar, cancur; comp. AS. cancer, E. canker. Probably OHG. chanchur is a real Teut. word from an unpermutated gongro-; comp. Gr. γόγγρος, ‘an excrescence on trees,’ γάγγραινα, ‘gangrene.’ Perhaps a genuinely Teut. term has been blended with a foreign word (Lat. cancer, Fr. chancre).
Kanne, f., ‘can, tankard, jug,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kanne, OHG. channa, f.; comp. AS. canne, E. can; OIc. kanna, Goth. *kannô. The OTeut. word cannot have been borrowed from Lat. cantharus (Gr. κάνθαρος); an assumed corruption of kantarum, m. acc. to a fem. kannô, is improbable. The derivation of Kanne, from Lat. canna, ‘cane,’ is opposed by the meaning of the word. Since ModHG. Kahn is based upon a Teut. root ka-, the latter can hardly be adduced in explanation of Kanne, although the meaning of both might be deduced from a prim. sense ‘hollowed wood,’ If we assume, as is quite possible, a Goth. *kaznô, ‘can,’ another etymology presents itself, Goth. kas, OIc. ker and OHG. char, ‘vessel,’ would be cognate, and -nô-, a suffix of the same root. If we compare, however, with Kanne the Suab. and Alem. variant Kante, which is based upon OHG. chanta, we obtain kan- as the root. The G. word passed into Fr. (Mod. Fr. canette, ‘small can,’ equiv. to MidLat. cannetta, dimin. of MidLat. canna).
Kante, f., ‘sharp edge, border, margin, fine lace,’ ModHG. only, from LG. kante, ‘edge, corner’; the latter, like E. cant, ‘corner, edge,’ which is also unknown to the earlier periods of the language, is derived from Fr. cant, ‘corner,’ which, with Ital. canto, is said to be based finally on Gr. κάνθος, ‘felloe of a wheel.’
Kantschu, m., ‘leather whip,’ from Bohem. kančuch, Pol. kańczuk. The word is of Turk. origin (Turk. kamčẹ, ‘whip’). Comp. Karbatsche.
Kanzel, f., ‘pulpit,’ from MidHG. kanzel, OHG. cancella, chanzella, f., lit. ‘the place set apart for the priests,’ then ‘pulpit’; from the equiv. MidLat. cancellus, cancelli, ‘grating,’ cancelli altaris, ‘the grating enclosing the altar, the part separated, rom the nave of the church by a grating’; in MidLat. generally ‘any part surrounded by a parapet, especially an oriental flat roof.’ “Qui vero Epistolas missas recitare volebant populo in regione Palæstinæ antiquitus, ascendebant super tectum et de cancellis recitabant et inde inolevit usus ut qui litteras principibus missas habent exponere Cancellarii usitato nomine dicantur” (du Cange). Hence Kanzler. From the same source, MidLat. cancellus, is derived E. chancel, taken from OFr., the meaning of which forms the starting-point for the development of the signification of the HG. word.
Kapaun, m., ‘capon,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kappûn; borrowed after the era of the substitution of consonants from Rom. cappônem (Lat. capo, equiv. to Gr. κἀπων); comp. Ital. cappone, Fr. chapon (whence also Serv. kopun). Even in the AS. period capûn, ‘gallinaceus,’ is found derived from the same source (E. capon); comp. Du. kapoen. From the Lat. nom. cappo is derived MidHG. kappe, and even OHG. chappo. For another term see under Hahnrei.
Kapelle (1.), f., ‘chapel, orchestra,’ an early loan-word, which always remained, however, under the influence of MidLat. capella, on which it is based, for while numerous other words borrowed from Lat. have their accent changed according to the ​Teut. method, the Lat. accent is retained in OHG. chapëlla, MidHG. kapëlle, and the ModHG. form. It is true that in MidHG. káppelle (ModAlem. käppelle), with the G. accent also occurs, and hence the UpG. Kappel, Käppel, frequent names of villages. MidLat. capella has a peculiar history; as a dimin. of capa (comp. Kappe) it signified ‘a cape’; the chapel itself, in which the cloak of St. Martin and other relics were preserved, first obtained the name of capella; then from about the 7th cent. the use of the word became general. —
Kaplan, m., ‘chaplain,’ from MidHG. kappellãn,. It is based on MidLat. capellânus, which orig. denoted the priest who had to guard the cloak of St. Martin. — MidLat. capella also signifies the body of priests under a bishop, hence the other meanings of ModHG. Kapelle.
Kapelle (2.), f., ‘cupel,’ ModHG. only; it is based upon a combination of MidLat. capella, Fr. chapelle, ‘lid of an alembic,’ and MidLat. cupella, Fr. coupelle, ‘cupel, crucible’ (dimin. of Lat. cupa).
Kaper, m., ‘pirate,’ from the equiv. Du. kaper.
Kapitel, n., ‘chapter,’ from MidHG. kapítel, ‘solemn assembly, convention,’ OHG. capítal, capítul, ‘inscription.’ MidLat. capitulum has also both these meanings.
kapores, adj., ‘broken, destroyed,’ ModHG. only; according to the general acceptation it is not allied to ModHG. kaput, but is rather derived from Hebr. kappârâh, ‘reconciliation, atonement.’
Kappe, f., ‘hood, cowl’; the meaning MidHG. kappe, f., upon which it is based, does not correspond very often with that of ModHG., its usual signification being ‘a garment shaped like a cloak and fitted with a cowl as a covering for the head’; hence Tarnkappe, which has first been made current in ModHG. in this century through the revival by scholars of the MidHG. tornkappe (prop. ‘the cloak that makes the wearer invisible’). OHG. chappa; AS. cœppe, ‘cloak,’ E. cap. The double sense of the MidHG. word appears in the MidLat. and Rom. cappa, ‘cloak, cap,’ on which it is based (on the prim. form câpa is based E. cope, from MidE. cope, as well as OIc. kápa, ‘cloak’). With regard to the meaning comp. ModFr. chape (cape), ‘cope, scabbard, sheath, case,’ and the derivatives chapeau, ‘hat,’ and chaperon, ‘cowl.’ The MidLat. word was adopted by the more civilised classes of Europe, passing into Slav. as well as into Rom. and Teut. The word was not borrowed, or rather not naturalised before the 8th cent., for an earlier borrowed term would have been *chapfa in OHG. and *kapfe in MidHG. — Comp. Kapelle.
kappen, vb., ‘to chop, lop,’ ModHG. simply, from Du. kappen, ‘to split’; comp. Dan. kappe and E. chap. In UpAlsat. kchapfe is found with the HG. form; allied also to the dial. graded forms kipfen, kippen; hence the Teut. root kep, kapp.
Kappes, Kappus, m., ‘headed cabbage,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kappaȥ, kappûs, kabeȥ, m. OHG. chabuȥ, chapuȥ, directly connected with Lat. caput, which strangely enough does not appear in MidLat. in the sense of ‘cabbage-head’; Ital. capuccio (hence Fr. cabus and E. cabbage) presumes, however, a MidLat. derivative of caput in the sense of ‘cabbage-head, headed cabbage.’ The naturalisation of the Ital. word in HG. may have been completed in the 7th cent. or so; by that time a number of Lat. names of plants, as well as the art of cookery and gardening introduced from the South, was already firmly established in Germany.
Kappzaum, m., ‘cavezon,’ ModHG. only, corrupted from Ital. cavezzone, whence also Fr. caveçon, ‘cavezon.’
kaput, adj., lit. ‘lost at play,’ ModHG. simply, from Fr. capot; faire capot, ‘to cause to lose,’ être capot, &c. The Fr. expression was introduced into G. with a number of other terms orig. used at play (comp. Treff).
Kapuze, f., ‘cowl,’ ModHG. only, from Ital. capuccio, whence also Fr. capuce; MidLat. capúcium; deriv. Kapuziner (MidLat. capucinus).
Karat, n., ‘carat,’ not derived fro MidHG. gárât, f. and n., ‘carat,’ which in ModHG. must have been Gárat. The ModHG. has been more probably borrowed anew from Fr. carat or Ital. caráto; the MidHG. word has adopted the G. accent, while the ModHG. term preserves the accent of the Rom. word upon which it is based.
Karausche, f., ‘crucian,’ ModHG. only; older variants, karaȥ, karûtsch; from Fr. carassin, ‘crucian’?. Comp. also E. crucian, and its equiv. Ital. coracino, Lith. karósas, Serv. karaš, Czech karas, which forms are nearer to HG. than to Fr.; the final source is Gr. κορακῖνος (MidLat. coracînus).
Karbatsche, f., ‘hunting-whip,’ ​rowed from Slav. like Kantschu and Peitsche in ModHG.; Pol. karbacz, Boh. karabáč (from Turk. kęrbač).
Karbe, Karve, f., ‘caraway,’ from the equiv. MidHG. karwe and karne, f.; allied to Fr. and Ital. carvi, ‘caraway.’ The usual assumption that this word as well as E. caraway is based on Lat. careum (Gr. κάρον), ‘caraway,’ is not quite satisfactory, hence the influence of Arab. al-karavîa is assumed.
Karch, m., ‘dray,’ from the equiv. MidHG. karrech, karrich, OHG. charrū̆k (hh), m. Probably current even in the 8th cent. on the Up. and Mid. Rhine, as may be inferred from the initial h, ch (comp. Pferd). It is based upon the late Lat. carruca, ‘honoratorum vehiculum opertum, four wheeled travelling car’ (a derivative of carrus; comp. Karren); Fr. charrue, ‘plough,’ is likewise based upon Lat. carrûca, which also signifies ‘plough’ in MidLat.
Karde, f., ‘fuller's thistle,’ from MidHG. karte, f., OHG. charta, f., ‘teasel, the instrument made from the thistle and used by cloth-weavers for carding wool.’ The final source is MidLat. cardus, carduus, ‘thistle’ (Fr. chardon, Ital. cardo), the d of the ModHG. word compared with the t of OHG. and MidHG. is due to the word, which was naturalised about the 7th cent., being based anew on the Lat. form. —
Kardetsche, Kardätsche, f., ‘carder's comb’; a derivative of Karde.
Karfreitag, m., ‘Good Friday,’ from the equiv. MidHG. karvrîtac, mostly kartac, m.; Karwoche, ‘Passion Week,’ is also current even in MidHG. The first part of the compound is OHG. chara, f., ‘lamentation. mourning’ (charasang, ‘elegy’). This OTeut. word for Klage, ‘lament,’ as distinguished from the other synonyms, signifies properly the silent, inward mourning, not the loud wailing, for in Goth. the cognate kara, f., means ‘care,’ AS. cearu, f., ‘care, suffering, grief,’ E. care. A corresponding vb. signifying ‘to sigh’ is preserved in OHG. quëran (Goth. *qaíran). Other derivatives of the Teut. root kar, qer, are wanting. See also karg.
Karfunkel, m., ‘carbuncle,’ from MidHG. karbunkel, m., with the variant karfunkel, probably based on MidHG. vunke, ModHG. Funke; b is the original sound, for the word is based upon Lat. carbunculus (comp. E. carbuncle, ModFr. escarboucle).
Karg, adj., ‘sparing, niggardly,’ from MidHG. karc (g), ‘prudent, cunning, sly, stingy’; in OHG. charag, ‘sad’; a derivative of the OTeut. kara, ‘care,’ discussed under Karfreitag. From the primary meaning ‘anxious,’ the three significations ‘sad,’ ‘frugal,’ and ‘cunning’ might be derived; comp. AS. čearig, ‘sad,’ and E. chary, allied to E. care. The syncope of the vowel in MidHG. karc compared with OHG. charag is normal after r.
Karpfen, m., ‘carp,’ from the equiv. MidHG. karpfe, OHG. charpho, m.; comp. E. carp; allied to OIc. karfe. It cannot be decided whether Karpfen is a real Teut. word; probably MidLat. carpo, Fr. carpe, and Ital. carpione are derived from Teut. In Kelt. too there are cognate terms for ‘carp,’ W. carp; comp. also Russ. karpŭ, koropŭ, Serv. krap, Lith. kárpa, ‘carp.’
Karre, f., Karren, m., from the equiv. MidHG. karre, m. and f., OHG. charra, f., charro, m., ‘cart’; the HG. words and also the E. car (OIc. kerra) are based on MidLat. carrus, m., carra, f., and their Rum. derivatives (ModFr. char, ‘car’). Lat. carrus, ‘four-wheeled transport waggon,’ is again of Kelt. origin (Gael. carr, Bret. karr); comp. Karch, Pferd. — Kariole, Karriole, f., Kariol, n., ‘jaunting car,’ simply ModHG. from Fr. carriole. — Kärrner, m., ‘carter.’
Karst, m., ‘hoe,’ from the equiv. MidHG. karst, m., OHG. and OSax. carst; the word is not found in other groups. The etymology is dubious; allied to kehren (karjan), ‘to sweep’?.
Kartaune, Kartane, f., ‘short, heavy cannon,’ from Ital. quartana, MidLat. quartâna; this term, as well as its earlier ModHG. version Viertelsbüchse, signifies a gun “which fired 25 lbs., in comparison with the heaviest piece of artillery firing 100 lbs.”
Karte, f., ‘card, chart, map,’ from late MidHG. karte, f.; formed from Fr. carte.
Karthause, Kartause, f., ‘Carthusian monastery,’ from late MidHG. kartûse, f., which is again derived from Cartûsía, Chartreuse (near Grenoble, where the Carthusian order was founded in 1084 A.D.). — Karthäuser, ‘Carthusian friar,’ from MidHG. karthûser, karthiuser.
Kartoffel, f., ‘potato,’ derived by a process of differentiation from the earlier ModHG. form Tartuffel. Potatoes were introduced into Germany about the middle of the 18th cent. from Italy, as is proved by the Ital. name (comp. Ital. tartufo, tartufolo; see Trüffel). Another name, Erdapfel, ​seems to indicate that the plant was brought from the Netherlands and France, Du. aard-appel, Fr. pomme de terre. The dial. Grumbire is due to a similar conception, its orig. form being Grundbirne. Tuffeln is a shortened form of Kartoffel, resulting from the position of the accent (comp. Kürbis from cucúrbita). The rarer dial. Bataten (Franc.), which corresponds to E. potato, is based upon Ital. and Span. patata, the final source of which is an American word. Potatoes were introduced in the 17th cent. from America into Spain and Italy, and were transplanted from these countries to the north.
Käse, m., ‘cheese,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kœse, OHG. châsi, m.; Lat. câseus (whence also OIr. caise), before the 5th cent. at the latest was adopted in the vernacular form câsius (variant căscus?) by the Teutons; comp. Du. kaas, AS. čŷse, E. cheese. It corresponds in Rom. to Ital. cacio, Span. queso; yet câseus was supplanted in the dials. at an early date by Lat. *formaticus, ‘(cheese) mould’; comp. Fr. fromage (Ital. formaggio). OIc. has a peculiar word for ‘cheese,’ ostr, in Goth. perhaps *justs (comp. Finn. juusto, ‘cheese’); the assumed Goth. *justs is connected etymologically with Lat. jus, ‘broth,’ OSlov. jucha, ‘soup,’ OInd. yûšán, ‘soup’ (comp. Jauche), the root of which is yu, ‘to mix,’ in Lith. jáuju, jáuti, ‘to mix (dough).’ From this collocation of terms it is probable that *justs is the OTeut. word for ‘cheese,’ and that the Teutons did not learn how to make cheese from the Southerners, but only an improved method of doing so when they adopted the term Käse from them. It is true that according to Pliny, Hist. Nat. xi. 41, the barbarians generally were not acquainted with the method; yet comp. also Butter.
Kastanie, f., ‘chestnut’; comp. OHG. chęstinna, MidHG. kę́stene, kę́sten, kastânie. The latter is evidently a return to the orig. form, Lat. castanea, which had already been transformed to kęstenne (comp. UpG. Kešte). Moreover, OHG. chęstinna and AS. čisten (čistenbeám, MidHG. kestenboum, E. chestnut) point to a Lat. *castinia, *castinja. Comp. Fr. châtaigne, Ital. castagna, ‘chestnut.’ The Lat. word is derived from the equiv. Gr. καστανέα, -νεια, -νειον, -νον; the chestnut was named from the town of Κάστανα, in Pontus.
kasteien, vb., ‘to chastise,’ from MidHG. kastîgen (g for j), kę̂stigen, OHG. chęstîgôn, ‘to chastise, punish’; the alteration of the accent and the vowels corresponds to that in Kastanie (which see) compared with the dial. Keste. Lat. castîgare (whence also Fr. châtier, and further E. chastise) was adopted on the introduction of Christianity (comp. Kreuz, Priester, and predigen) from ecclesiastical Lat.; OHG. chę̂stîgôn, like many words borrowed in the OHG. period (see predigen), was accented after the G. method.
Kasten, m., ‘chest,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kaste, OHG. chasto, m.; this word, which is at all events really Teut., is wanting in the rest of the OTeut. dials. Goth. *kasta, ‘receptacle,’ may be connected with kasa-, ‘vessel,’ so that the dental would be a derivative; yet kas signifies specially ‘an earthen vessel, pot’ (comp. kasja, ‘potter’). This Goth. kas, moreover, became char in OHG. by the normal change of s into r; in the ModHG. literary speech it is now wanting, but it appears in MidHG. binen-kar, upon which ModHG. Bienenkorb is based.
Kater, m., ‘tom-cat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kater, katere, m., OHG. chataro, m.; the r of Kater appears to be a masc. suffix; comp. Morder and Mord, Tauber and Taube; Enter-ich and Ente?, Ganser and Gans?, &c., Comp. Katze.
Kattun, m., ‘cotton, calico,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kottûn, m., which is again derived from Du. kattoen, Fr. coton, equiv. to E. cotton.
Katze, f., ‘cat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. katze, OHG. chazza, f.; a common Europ. word in the Mid. Ages and in modern times; of obscure origin. Comp. also AS. catt, m., E. cat; OIc. kǫttr, m. These assume Goth. *katta, *kattus. Early MidLat. cattus and its Rom. derivatives (Ital. gatto, Fr. chat), Ir. and Gael. cat, m., and Slav. kotǔ, ‘tom-cat,’ Lith. katě, ‘cat', kátinas, ‘tom-cat’ (allied to Serv. kotiti, ‘to litter,’ &c., kot, ‘brood, litter’), suggest the possibility that the Teut. term was borrowed from a neighbouring race after the period of the Teut. substitution of consonants, at latest a century before or after the migration of the tribes. It is a remarkable fact, however, that G. retains a prim. and independent masc. form of the word in Kater (Goth. *kaduza?), which also occurs in Du. and LG. kater (comp. E. caterwaul).
kauderwelsch, adj., ‘jargon,’ first occurs in early ModHG. allied to an unexplained vb. kaudern, ‘to talk unintelligibly,’ ​hence ‘strange, unintelligible foreign tongue.’ It seems to have been a Swiss word orig. and allied to Suab. and Swiss kauder, chûder, ‘tow’; or should it be churwelsch?
Kaue, f., ‘coop, cage, pen,’ from MidHG. kouwe (köwe), f., ‘miner's hut or shed over a shaft’ (OHG. *kouwa, Goth. *kaujô, are wanting); from Lat. cavea (intermediate form cauja?), ‘cavity.’ See also Käfig.
kauen, vb., ‘to chew,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kûwen, kiuwen, OHG. chiuwan; ModHG. au and MidHG. û in this word compared with äu in wiederkäuen is properly MidG. merely. It corresponds to AS. ceóuwan, E. to chew, and the equiv. Du. kaauwen. The verb, which is based on a Teut. root këw, ku, pre-Teut. gew, is wanting in Goth.; comp. OSlov. žĭvą, žują, žĭvati, ‘to chew.’ The Aryan root is gjū̆, gī̆w, ‘to chew’; see Rieme. Gr. γεύομαι for γεύσομας is totally unconnected with HG. kauen, being allied to kosten.
kauern, vb., ‘to crouch’; its relation to MidHG. hûren (Du. hurken), ‘to squat,’ is obscure; in E. and in Scand. an initial k also appears, MidE. couren, E. to cower; Dan. kûre, Swed. kûra, in the ModHG. sense; OIc. kúra, ‘to be inactive’ Comp. kauzen.
kaufen, vb., ‘to buy,’ from MidHG. koufen, OHG. choufôn. The meaning in OHG. and MidHG. is somewhat more general, ‘to trade, negotiate,’ specially also ‘to buy, sell, or to barter.’ Comp. Goth. kaupôn, ‘to trade,’ AS. čŷpan (Goth. *kaupjan), ‘to buy, sell.’ The word has numerous interesting meanings; its primary sense is ‘to barter,’ and was used by the parties on either side, and hence on the development of the system of paying in specie it signified both ‘to buy’ and ‘to sell’; comp. also AS. ceáp, ‘trade, business, cattle’ (cattle was, in fact, the chief medium of payment in exchange; comp. Geld and Vieh). It is most closely allied to Lat. caupo, ‘retail dealer, innkeeper,’ and in connection with this fact it is certainly remarkable that a nomen agentis corresponding to Lat. caupo is far less widely diffused than the Teut. vb. kaupôn (only in OHG. does choufo mean ‘shopkeeper’). The Teut. vb. in the form of kupiti, ‘to buy’ (allied to kupŭ, ‘trade,’ kupĭcĭ, merchant,’ Lith. kùpezus, ‘merchant’), passed into prim. Slav. and Finn. (kauppata, ‘to trade’). The cognates are wanting in Rom. (comp. Kaiser). — The ModHG. Kauf is OHG. chouf, m., ‘trade, business’; AS. čeáp, ‘trade’; in E. the cognates cheap and chapman have been retained.
Kaul-barsch, ‘round posterior,’ Kaul-kopf, ‘bull-head,’ Kaul-quappe, ‘ruff’; in these compounds Kaul signifies ‘a ball of small circumference’; MidHG. kûle, a variant of kugele (comp. steil from steigel); older ModHG. Kaule; comp. Keule.
kaum, adv., ‘scarcely,’ from MidHG. kûme, as adj. (?), ‘thin, weak, infirm,’ as adv. (OHG. chûmo), ‘with difficulty, hardly, scarcely, not’; to this is allied OHG. chûmig, ‘powerless, toilsome.’ ‘Feeble’ is the prim. meaning of the adj. and adv., as is shown by Lower Hess. küme, MidLG. küme, Swiss chum, and MidE. kîme, ‘feeble.’ The corresponding AS. cŷme signifies ‘tender, fine, beautiful’ (comp. klein), Teut. kûmi-, ‘feeble,’ is not found in the other languages.
Kauz, m., ‘screech-owl,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kûtze, kûtz, m. (rarely occurs); in OHG. as well as in the other OTeut. dials. the word is wanting, therefore it is difficult to determine its Goth. form. We might assume Goth. *kutts or *kûdna; the first partly suggests Gr. βῦζα, ‘owl’ (for gûdja? β as in βαίνα, ‘to go,’ βύσσος, ‘fine flax, equiv. to ModHG. Kaute). Moreover, ModHG. pet names for birds are formed ending in tz, Spatz, Stieglitz, Kiebitz; hence Kau-ze may have to be divided, and thus Gr. βύας, ‘owl,’ would be most closely connected with Teut. kau, kû.
kauzen, vb., ‘to cower’; ModHG. only; like kauern, it is connected with the root kû; zen is a suffix from OHG. zen, azen (ȥȥen, aȥȥen), Goth. atjan; *kûwatjan would be the Goth. form. Comp. kauern.
Kebse, f., ‘concubine,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kębse, kębese, OHG. chębisa, chębis; in Goth. perhaps *kabisi. Comp. AS. čęfes, čyfes. Unfortunately the word is etymologically quite obscure. The meaning is an important one in the history of manners and customs; the AS. word signifies ‘concubine’ and ‘servant,’ and the corresponding masc. kefser in OIc. slave; it is evident that female captives were made slaves and concubines (comp. AS. wealh, ‘Kelt. slave,’ wylen, ‘female slave, servant,’ under Welsch). The idea of ‘concubine,’ in spite of Tacitus’ highly-coloured picture of the OTeut. family life, is not foreign to ​OTeut. antiquity; but the important fact is, and this is confirmed by his general statements, that concubines were chosen from the prisoners, or rather the slaves; in antiquity the slaves were regarded as chattels; comp. Lat. mancipium, Gr. ἀνδράποδον; OIc. man, ‘slave,’ is neu., and sometimes signifies ‘female slave, concubine.’
keck, adj., ‘pert, impudent,’ from MidHG. këc, a variant of quëc (inflected këcker, quëcker), ‘living, fresh’; OHG. chëc (inflected chëcchêr), quëc, quëcchêr, ‘living.’ Corresponding to AS. cwicu (cucu), ‘living,’ E. quick. The prim. meaning of the adj. is ‘living,’ and the ModHG. lebhaft, ‘lively,’ illustrates the development of the signification. For farther comparison we have to proceed from the corresponding Goth. adj. qiwa, ‘living’ (the second c, k of the HG. and E. words, is an insertion before the Goth. w). Goth. qiwa-, derived from gwiwo-, giwo-, corresponds exactly to Lat. vîvus for gwîvus, Sans. jîvás, ‘living,’ allied to Lat. vîvere (victus); Sans. jivâtus, ‘life,’ jîvathas, ‘life’; furthur, in Gr. with an initial β (comp. βαίνω, ‘to go’), βίος, βίοτος, βιόω; allied to OSlov. živŭ, Lith. gývas, OIr. beo, ‘living.’ All these forms indicate an Aryan root gī̆w, ‘to live.’ This root seems to be graded in Teut. only, in OIc. kveykva, kveikja (Goth. *qaiwjan), ‘to light a fire,’ prop. ‘to give life to.’ In ModHG. erquicken and Quecksilber are connected with the same root, and in fact with the Aryan, adj. gī̆wós, ‘living’; the loss of the u after q, which has differentiated keck from queck, is seen also in kommen, Köder, and Kot.
Kegel (1.), m., ‘cone, nine-pin, sight (of a gun),’ from MidHG. and MidLG. k€gel, m., ‘nine-pin,’ also ‘stick, cudgel, OHG. chęgil, ‘stake, plug,’ allied to MidDu. kegghe, Du. keg, ‘wedge,’ ModHG. and Bav. kag, ‘stump.’ OHG. chęgil, ‘plug,’ may have been Goth. *kagils (from pre-Teut. gagho-), and might be cognate with Gr. γόμφο-ς (φ for gh), ‘plug, wooden nail, wedge,’ with the root syllable nasalised. It cannot be decided whether Lith. żaginýs, ‘stake, post’ (żagaras, ‘dry branch’), is allied to Kegel, or rather to Kufe, ‘cheek of a sledge.’
Kegel (2.), m., ‘bastard’ (retained in ModHG. only in the phrase Kind und Kegel, ‘kith and kin’), from MidHG. kęgel, kękel, ‘illegitimate child,’ Of obscure origin.
Kehle, f., ‘throat; channel, fluting,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and MidLG. kele, f., OHG. chëla; corresponding to Du. keel, AS. čeole (obsolete in E.) and čeolor. In Goth. perhaps *kilô (gen. *kilôns). Since Teut. k is derived from pre-Teut. g, we may compare Sans. gala and Lat. gula, ‘throat.’ See Herz.
kehren (1.), vb., ‘to turn,’ from MidHG. kêren, OHG. chêrren, ‘to turn, direct’; a difficult word to explain both etymologically and phonetically; in AS. čěrran, čy̆rran (pret. čy̆rde), ‘to turn.’
kehren (2.), vb., ‘to sweep,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kęrn, kęren, kęrjen, OHG. chęrian, chęren; the Goth. form is probably *karjan, not *kazjan; also OHG. ubarchara, ‘offscouring, impurity,’ connected with Ic. kar, n., ‘dirt (on new-born lambs and calves).’ Probably primit. allied to Lith. żeriu, żèrti, ‘to scrape.’
Keib, Kaib, m., ‘vulgar person,’ prop. ‘carrion’; simply ModHG., and only in Suab. and Alem.
keifen, vb., ‘to scold,’ with the LG. form for the strictly HG. keiben, MidHG. kîben, ‘to upbraid, quarrel,’ with the equiv. frequentative kibeln, kiveln; MidHG. kîp, kîbes, m., ‘wrangling manner, defiance, refractoriness.’ MidLG. kîven, Du. kijven, ‘to upbraid,’ Scand. kífa, ‘to quarrel,’ kíf, ‘quarrel.’
Keil, m., ‘wedge, keystone,’ from MidHG. kîl, ‘wedge, plug,’ with the curious variant kîdel (ModHG. dial. Keidel), OHG. chîl, ‘plug’; both the MidHG. forms assume Goth. *keiþls’. Scand. keiler (Goth. *kaileis), m., ‘wedge,’ is abnormal; the root is kî, kai. OIc. kill, ‘canal’ (comp. the proper name Kiel), is probably not connected on account of the meaning; since OHG. and MidHG. kîl signifies ‘plug,’ the word is more probably allied to AS. cœ̂g, E. key.
Keiler, Keuler, m., ‘wild boar,’ ModHG. only, probably not allied to Keule; borrowed from Lit. kuilýs, ‘boar’.
Keim, m., ‘germ, bud, shoot,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kîm, kîme, m., OHG. chîm, chîmo, m. (Goth. *keima, m.). The Teut. root is kî, which is widely diffused in the Teut. group. Goth. has only the partic. of a vb. derived from this root, us-kijans, ‘sprouted,’ for which, however, an earlier variant, keins, ‘germinated,’ is assumed by the vb. us-keinan (-nôda). With the same root kî are connected the dental derives. AS. cîþ, OSax. kîð, OHG. chîdi ( ​ikîdi), MidHG. kîde, ModHG. dial. Keide, ‘shoot.’ OSax. and OHG. kînan, ‘to germinate,’ has a pres. affix n of the root kî; the identical AS. cînan, ‘to spring up, burst, burst to pieces, germinate,’ and the corresponding AS. subst. činu, MidE. chine, ‘rift, crack,’ prove that the meaning ‘to germinate’ originated in the actual perception of budding.
kein, num. adj., ‘no, none,’ from MidHG. kein, shortened from dechein, OHG. dihhein, also OHG. dohh-ein, nihhein, nohhein, all of which are compounded with ein. The meaning of OHG. and MidHG. dech is obscure.
Kelch, m., ‘chalice, cup,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kęlch, OHG. chęlih, kęlih (hh), m.; corresponding to OSax. kęlik; from Lat. călicem (calix), borrowed at a time when the word was pronounced kalìkem (comp. Keller); the suggestion that Kelch was first adopted from Ecclesiast. Lat. on the introduction of Christianity, is refuted by the changes made in Lat. crucem, ‘Kreuz’ (‘cross’), which was certainly not borrowed before this time; the G. z for Lat. c before e points to a far later period than the derivation of Kelch from calicem. There is greater probability in the assumption that the term was imported with the southern culture of the vine; comp. Keller, Wein, and Becher. In E. and Scand. the Lat. a is retained; AS. calič, cœlič, and Scand. kalkr; comp. OIr. calich. In almost every language the word is restricted to ecclesiastical uses; comp. Fr. calice. —
Klütenkelch, ‘calyx,’ ModHG. is due to a confusion by scientists of Kelch (Lat. calix), with Gr. κἀλυξ, ‘calyx.’
Kelle, f., ‘ladle, scoop, trowel,’ from MidHG. and MidLG. kęlle, f., ‘ladle, trowel,’ OHG. chęlla, f., ‘trowel’; Goth. *kaljô, f., is wanting. Although there are a few points of contact between HG. Kelle and AS. cylle, cille, f., ‘leather bottle or bag, vessel,’ the AS. word is based upon Lat. culleus, ‘leather bag,’ or, as is more probable, a genuine Teut. word has been confused with a borrowed term in AS.
Keller, m., ‘cellar,’ from the equiv. MidHG. këller, m., OHG. chëllâri, m.; corresponding to OSax. kellere, m.; Scand. kjallare, m.; a Teut. loan-word which probably passed from the South through Up. Germany to the North; in England only the word did not obtain in the older period; E. cellar originated in the OFr. celier. The word was borrowed from late Lat. cellarium (with a change of gender and accent) in the pre-OHG. period, since the terms borrowed from Lat. in OHG. change Lat. c before open vowels into z (tz); comp. Kreuz. Keller may have been introduced into Germany from the South at the same time as Kelch (which see), perhaps with the culture of the vine; yet the word signifies generally ‘subterranean storeroom.’ —
Kellner, m., ‘waiter,’ from MidHG. këlnœre, m., ‘butler,’ from MidLat. cellenarius, with the equiv. variant këllœre, m., from Lat. cellarius, m., ‘steward, butler.’ —
Kellnerin, ‘barmaid,’ MidHG. këlnœrinne, këllœrinne, f., ‘maid, servant, housekeeper.’
Kelter, f. and m., ‘wine or oil press,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kęlter, kalter, m. and f. OHG. calcatûra, calctûra (also calctûrhûs, MidHG. kalterhûs); borrowed, on the introduction of the southern culture of the vine (see Wein, Becher, Kelch, and Keller), from Lat. calcatura, ‘wine-press’ (calcatorium), derived from calcare, ‘to tread.’ Hence Kelter orig. means ‘treading press.’ For the genuine UpG. for Kelter see under Trotte and Torkel (in Du. pers, AS. presse, from Lat. pressa). Kelter is MidG., and is found from the Moselle to the Saale. Corresponding to OLorraine chaucheur, from Lat. calcatorium.
Kemenate, f., from the equiv. MidHG. kęmenâte, f., ‘room with a fireplace,’ espec. ‘bedroom,’ also ‘sitting-room, women's apartment.’ During the OHG. period MidLat. caminâta, ‘room with a stove or fireplace,’ was introduced into G., as is proved by the preservation of the Lat. sharp dental in OHG. chęminâta, f. From MidLat. caminata, which is recorded as early as the 6th cent., are derived Ital. camminata, ‘large room,’ and Fr. cheminée, whence the equiv. E. chimney, also Czech, Pol. and Russ. komnata, ‘room’; comp. Kamin.
kennen, vb., ‘to know, be acquainted with,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kęnnen, OHG. chęnnen. The simple form was very little used in MidHG. and OHG., the usual words being the compounds OHG. irchęnnen, MidHG. erkęnnen, and OHG. bichęnnen, MidHG. bekęnnen, with the meanings of ModHG. kennen. The corresponding Goth. kannjan (uskannjan), as well as AS. cęnnan, gecęnnan, signifies ‘to make known.’ This double sense, which is combined in OIc. kenna, is explained by the ​fact that OTeut. kannjan is a factitive of the OTeut. pret.-pres. kann, inf. kunnan, ‘to know’; erkennen is a derivative ‘to inform oneself.’ Comp. further references under können.
Kerbe, f., ‘notch,’ from MidHG. kërbe, f., kërp, m., ‘incision, notch,’ Comp. OIc. kjarf, kerfe, n., ‘bundle,’ AS. cyrf, ‘incision.’
kerben, vb. ‘to notch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kërben (with a str. partic. gekurben in Lower Rhen.); an orig. str. vb. with the graded forms kërfan, karf, kurbum, korban (comp. AS. čeorfan, E. to carve, Du. kerven); the final f of the stem kerf is attested by the MidHG. kërve, a variant of kërbe; Goth. *kaírfan is wanting. The root kerf is found also in Gr. γράφω, ‘to write,’ prop. ‘to cut in, scratch’ (comp. HG. reißen with E. to write), which with Teut. kerf points to a Sans. root *gṛph.
Kerbel, m., ‘chervil,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kërvele, kërvel, f. and m., OHG. kërvola, kërvela, f., ‘a culinary and medicinal herb’; comp. AS. čerfille, E. chervil. It was probably naturalised in Germany before the OHG. period, and is derived from Lat. cœrifolium (χαιρέφυλλον), whence also Fr. cerfeuil, Ital. cerfoglio, which were borrowed at a period when the initial c before open vowels was still pronounced k; comp. Keller, Kerker, Kaiser, Kreuz, Pech, &c. In the period before the HG. permutation of consonants, the Ital. art of cookery and horticulture, and with the latter many southern vegetables and herbs, were introduced into Germany; comp. Rappes, Pfeffer, Minze, Kohl, and Keller,
Kerker, m., ‘gaol,’ from the equiv. MidHG. karkœre, kęrkœre, kęrker, m., OHG. karkâri, m., ‘prison'; from Lat. carcerem, probably more strictly from karkerim (comp. OHG. krûzi, from Lat. crucem under Kreuz), so that the final i of the OHG. word would represent the -em of the acc. (comp. Kelch, Linse). Even in Goth. karkara, f., ‘prison,’ is found, corresponding to AS. cearcern, OIr. carcar. In the HG. word the second k shows that Kerker was borrowed before the OHG. period, since borrowed terms in OHG. such as chrûzi, from crucem, pronounce the c as tz before open vowels; comp. Kaiser, Kelch, Keller, Kerbel, and Pech.
Kerl, m., ‘fellow.’ a MidG. and LG. form for MidHG. karl, m., ‘man, husband, lover,’ OHG. karal; OIc. karl, m., ‘man (opposed to woman), old man, one of the common folk, serf, servant,’ hence E. carl, ‘fellow, man.’ Besides these terms, which indicate Goth. *karla-, there appears a form kerla- (Goth. *kaírla-) allied to them by gradation, and assumed by AS. čeorl, ‘serf’ hence čeorlian, ‘to take a husband, marry’), MidE. cheorl, E. churl, as well as by Du. kerel, Fris. tzerl, LG. kêrl, kerel (wanting in OSax.). As a proper name the HG. Karl was retained without being supplanted by the MidG. and LG. form; on the adoption of Karl by Slav. see under Kaiser. Both words denoted a full-grown man (generically, ‘husband, lover,’ and also ‘male of animals’ in OHG. and AS.; legally, ‘man of the lower orders’); in AS. ceorl, ‘man,’ retained the entire signification, since it is used even of kings, and in the derivative ceorlian, ‘to marry,’ it preserves its generic meaning and its legal aspect in being applied to the common freemen and the serf. References in non-Teut. cannot be adduced with any certainty; the comparison of kerl, karl, with Sans. jâra (j for g), ‘paramour, lover,’ is possible as far as the stem is concerned; the l of the Teut. word is at all events a suffix. With regard to the gradation Kerl, Karl, comp. Käfer, Giebel, Kiefer, Laut, &c.
Kern, m., ‘kerne, stone (of fruit), pith,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kërn, kërne, m. OHG. kërno, m.; corresponding to OIc. kjarne, m., ‘kernel.’ A corresponding Goth. *kaîrnó, m., is wanting (for which we have kaúrnô, n.?). AS. cyrnel, and the equiv. E. kernel are connected phonetically more nearly with Korn, since a derivative of Kern in E. would have an initial ch. OTeut. kerna- and korna- are allied by gradation to each other just as Brett and Bord, Kerl and Karl.
kernen, vb., ‘to churn,’ allied to E. churn, AS. *čirne, *čyrne, Du. karn, OIc. kirna, f., ‘churn,’ with which AS. čyrnan, E. to churn, and the equiv. Du. karnen are also connected. Akin to ModHG. (Up. Palat.) kern, ‘cream,’ MidDu. kerne, Scand. (Ic.) kjarne, ‘cream,’ which perhaps are identical with Kern. Probably Teut. kirnjôn, ‘churn,’ and kirnjan, ‘to churn,’ are prim. derivatives of *kerno-, ‘cream.’
Kerze, f., ‘taper, wax-light, candle,’ from MidHG. kęrze, ‘candle, taper,’ espec. ‘wax candle,’ OHG. chęrza, charza, f., charz, m., ‘taper, wick, tow.’ We have to proceed from the latter in tracing the development of meaning in Kerze (comp. OIc. kerte, n., ‘wax-light’; ‘tow, wick made of tow, wick ​with a covering of wax, taper,’ form the series. Hence there is no need to suppose that Kerze has been borrowed from Ft. cerâta, allied to cera, ‘wax,’ an assumption equally at variance with the phonological relations of the words. It is true that neither *karta-, ‘tow,’ nor its derivative *kartjô, ‘taper,’ has any etymological support in the non-Teut. languages. The OHG. doublet karza, kęrza, may, however, be explained by the assumption of a Goth. *kartjô, f., the mutation appearing only at a late period before r and consons. in OHG.
Kessel, m., ‘kettle, cauldron, boiler,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kęȥȥel, OHG. chęȥȥil, m.; corresponding to Goth. katils, OIc. ketell, AS. čytel, m., E. kettle, and the equiv. Du. ketel. This OTeut. word is usually derived from Lat. catînus, ‘dish’ (Sans. kaṭhina, ‘dish’), or its dimin. catillus. Lat. catînus is indicated by OHG. kęȥȥîn, chęȥȥî, MidHG. chęȥȥî (Alem.) ‘kettle,’ AS. cęte, ‘cooking-pot.’ It is shown under Igel that Goth. katils can be derived from Lat. catînus. Schüssel and Tisch may have been borrowed at the same period as Kessel. From Lat. catînus are also derived the Rom. terms, Port. cadinho and Tyrol. cadin, ‘wooden dish.’ From Teut., OSlov. kotilŭ, ‘kettle’ is derived.
Kette (1.), f., ‘covey,’ with the earlier variants kitte, kütte, at present dial.; used in ModHG. only of partridges, &c. Kette is a corruption of the unintelligible kütte, MidHG. kütte, OHG. chutti, n., ‘herd, troop’; comp. MidLG. küdde, Du. kudde, f., ‘herd.’ We might connect the word with Lith. gũtas, m., gaujà, f., ‘herd,’ and hence further with the Ind. root jû (for gū̆), ‘to drive, urge on,’ Lith. gùiti, ‘to drive.’ Therefore the dental of the OHG. word, as in the equiv. Lith. gũtas, belongs to the suffix. The Aryan root is gu, ‘to drive cattle.’
Kette (2.), f., ‘chain, fetter,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kęten, kętene (Kette is found since the 15th cent.), f., OHG. chętina, chętinna, f., ‘chain’; borrowed from Lat. catêna, yet hardly from the latter itself, since the word was probably naturalized in G. before the HG. permutation of consonants (comp. Kerker), but rather from a vernacular cadéna (thus Prov. and Span., hence Fr. chaine, from which MidE. chaine, E. chain is derived), which by a change of accent and by the HG. permutation and mutation resulted in chętîna; Du. keten and MidDu. ketene still point, however, to the t of the Lat. word. For the transition of ê to î, comp. feiern and Pein. The accent is changed, as in OHG. ábbā̆t, from Lat. abbát-em.
Ketzer, m., ‘heretic,’ from MidHG. ketzer, m., ‘heretic,’ also ‘reprobate, Sodomite’ (not recorded in OHG.). The tz presents no difficulties in deriving the word from Gr. καθαρός (καθαροί, a Manichean sect spread throughout the West in the 11th and 12th cents., and persecuted by the Church), if it be assumed that Du. ketter, ‘heretic,’ is a phonetic version of the HG. word. It is true that HG. tz from Gr. θ (Lat. th) cannot be demonstrated; the hard fricative th (þ, θ) may, however, be regarded phonetically as tz, since, e.g., King Chilperic's sign for the was none other than z; the þ in OIc. words sounded also to the Germans of the 9th cent. like z; þór seemed to them zor. So too in Italy the καθαροί were called Gazari.
keuchen, vb., ‘to gasp,’ from MidHG. kûchen, ‘to breathe’; MidHG. kîchen, ‘to breathe with difficulty, gasp,’ has also been absorbed in the ModHG. vb. Corresponding to Du. kugchen, ‘to cough,’ from MidDu. kuchen, AS. cohhettan, MidE. coughen, E. to cough. — MidHG. kîchen is based on a Teut. root kik, which appears in LG., Du., and E., in a nasalised form; LG. (Holstein) kinghosten, Du. kinkhoest, m., E. chincough (for chinkcough), ‘whooping-cough’; allied to Swed. kikhosta, Dan. kighoste, AS. čincung.
Keule, f., ‘club, pestle; thigh; rude fellow,’ from MidHG. kiule, f., ‘club, stick, pole’; cognate with ModHG. Kaule, from MidHG. kûle, a variant of kugele, kugel. See the further references under Kugel.
Keuler, m. see Keiler.
keusch, adj., ‘chaste, pure,’ from MidHG. kiusche, kiusch, adj., ‘moderate, quiet, modest, bashful'; OHG. chûski, adj., ‘continent, moderate.’ AS. cûse is borrowed from the OSax. of the Heliand, OSax. *kûsci, of which only the corresponding adv. cûsco is recorded; Du. kuisch, ‘cleanly, chaste.’ The prim. meaning of the OTeut. adj., which appears in all these forms, is presumably ‘pure’; comp. Du. kuischen, ‘to clean, purify’; OHG. unchûskî, ‘dirt’ (also Hess. unkeuscher Weg, ‘road in bad condition’). —
Keuschlamm, ‘chaste tree,’ simply ModHG., formed from MidLat. agnus castus, known in Gr. by the term ​ἄγνος; this being associated with ἁγνός, ‘pure,’ gave rise to the Lat. agnus castus; agnus, Gr. ἄγνος, being confused with agnes, ‘lamb,’ led to HG. Keuschlamm, one of the strangest products of sciolism (not of popular etymology). The tree is also called Keuschbaum, Du. kuischboom.
Kibitz, m., ‘lapwing,’ with numerous dial. forms varying at different periods; they are all due to a corruption of a term the etymology of which was not understood; in MidHG. also there are several forms; gîbitze, gîbitz, gîbiȥ occur in the written language. The similarity in sound of the equiv. Russ. čibezŭ and of MidLG. kîvit, Du. kievit, E. peewit, suggests the assumption that Kibitz is of onomatopoetic origin. The suffix resembles that in Stiglitz.
Kicher, f., ‘chick-pea,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kicher, OHG. chihhurra, chihhira, f.; based on Lat. cicer (plur. cicera), n., ‘chick-pea,’ cicera, f., ‘chickling vetch'; MidLat. cicoria, cichorea, which would be most closely allied phonetically to OHG. chihhurra, signifies ‘chicory (Gr. κἴχώριον). MidE. chiche, E. chiches, chickpeas, plur., with the suffix r wanting as in Fr. chiche, Ital. cece. The term was borrowed before the OHG. period (Du. sisererwt is more recent).
kichern, vb., ‘to titter,’ ModHG. only; allied to OHG. chihhazzen, ‘to laugh,’ a variant of OHG. chahhazzen (MidHG. kachzen); comp. also MidHG. kah, m., ‘loud laughter,’ and MidHG. kachen, ‘to laugh loudly’; the ch is not based, as in other instances, on Teut. k, but following AS. ceahhet an, ‘to laugh,’ on OTeut. hh. The cognates are onomatopoetic, the root of which cannot be discovered. In Gr. similar terms were coined, καχάζω, καγχάζω, καγχαλάω, καγχλάζω, ‘to laugh loudly,’ καχλάζω, ‘to splash and bubble.’ On account of the non-permutation of the consonants the terms cannot have been orig. allied. The Gr. words may, however, be cognate with Sans. kakh, ‘to laugh.’
Kiebitz, see Kibitz.
Kiefer (1.), m., from the equiv. MidHG. kiver (m., n. ?), kivel, kivele, ‘jaw, jawbone,’ besides which there is a form from the stem of kauen, MidHG. kiuwel, m., and usually kiuwe, këwe, f., ‘jaw, jawbone.’ Yet ModHG. kiver, kivel, have, notwithstanding their rare occurrence, a remoter history in the past; with Goth. *kifru- is connected OIc. kjǫptr, kjaptr (Goth. *kiftus), ‘mouth (of beasts), jawbone,’ and also with the a stage of gradation, AS. ceafl, OSax. kafl, m., ‘jaw of animals’ (with regard to the gradation comp. Käfer, Giebel, and Kerl). The Teut. stem is therefore kef, kaf, or rather keb, kab (before l and r later permutations of b to f sometimes occur), from pre-Teut. geph or gebh; comp. Zend zafare, zafra, n., ‘mouth, jaws’ (the corresponding term in Sans. *japhra, *jabhra, is wanting); the nasalised root jambh, by gradation jabh, ‘to snap at,’ leads to Gr. γαμφαΐ, γαμφηλαί, ‘jaws,’ yet these are probably connected more closely with the cognates discussed under Kamm. See Käfer.
Kiefer (2.), f., ‘pine,’ early ModHG. only; it cannot be traced further back; in UpG. Föhre simply. Hence Kiefer probably originated in Kienföhre (respecting the obscuration of old compounds comp. Wimper, Schultz, and Schuster). The intermediate form kimfer is recorded as North Boh. Comp. also MidHG. kienboum, m., ‘pine,’ and *kienforhe, f., ‘pine-tree’ (attested by the derivative kienforhîn, adj., ‘of pine’). Comp. Kien and Föhre.
Kieke; f., ‘foot-warmer,’ simply ModHG. from the equiv. LG. kîke, in Dan. ildkikkert, ‘foot-warmer.’ Of obscure origin.
Kiel (1.), m., from the equiv. MidHG. kil, m. and n., ‘quill’; not recorded in OHG.; dial. Keil (MidG.), pointing to MidHG. kîl; LG. quiele, kiel, is connected with MidE. quille, E. quill. Goth. *qilus or, *qeilus, and further cognate terms are wanting.
Kiel (2.), m., ‘keel,’ from MidHG. kiel, OHG. chiol, m., ‘a rather large ship’; comp. AS. ceól, m., ‘ship,’ Du. kiel, E. keel, OIc. kjóll, m., ‘ship.’ Scand. kjǫlr, m., ‘ship’s keel,’ is not allied to these; from this the E. word as well as the ModHG. meaning is probably derived (probably through LG. and Dan. influence). The OTeut. *kiuls (the assumed Goth. form), ‘ship,’ may be connected with Gr. γαυλός (γαῦλος), ‘merchant vessel’ (orig. ‘pail,’ also ‘articles in the form of a pail, e.g. beehive’); au would be Goth. iu, as in HG. Stier, Goth. stiurs, compared with Gr. ταῦρος. The fact that a naut. term was orig. common to both the Teutons and the Greeks is no more remarkable than the occurrence of the term Mast among the Teutons and the Romans; besides, the terms relating to shipbuilding stretch still further back, as is proved by the correspondence of Lat. ​nâvis, Gr. ναῦς, Ind. nâus; comp. Nachen. With the Gr. word, Sans. gôlâ, gôlam, ‘cone-shaped pitcher’ (Sans. ô for au), has also been compared; hence a similar signification might be assigned to the orig. Teut. word. Comp. Kahn.
Kieme, f., ‘gill (of a fish),’ ModHG. simply, from the equiv. LG. kîm; allied to OHG. chiela, chêla, as well as AS. cîan, ceón, with the same meaning. Since the forms corresponding exactly in sound with Kieme are wanting in the earlier periods, its origin is uncertain; some have connected it with kauen, root kiw (Aryan giw).
Kien, m., ‘resinous wood,’ from MidHG. kien, n. and m., OHG. chien, ‘resinous wood, pine chips, pine torch’; comp. AS. *kên, cên, m., ‘torch pine.’ Goth. *kêns or *kizns (comp. Miete from Goth. mizdô) is wanting; further references cannot be found. Comp. also Kiefer.
Kiepe, f., ‘wicker basket,’ ModHG. only, from LG.; comp. Du. kiepekorf, m., ‘wicker basket, basket for the back,’ MidDu. also cûpe, AS. cŷpa, E. dial. kipe, ‘basket’; Goth. *kûpjô or *kiupô is wanting. Whether these terms are borrowed, or rather developed, from MidLat. cûpa, ‘tun,’ and also ‘measure of corn’ (comp. Kufe), cannot be decided.
Kies, m., ‘gravel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kis, m.; Kiesel, ‘pebble,’ from MidHG. kisel, m., ‘flint-stone, hailstone, large hailstone’; OHG. chisil, AS. čeosel, MidE. chisel, ‘pebble.’ Goth. *kisuls, m., is wanting; this would be a derivative of *kisa-, on which MidHG. kis and ModHG. Kies is probably based. Du. kei and kiezel points to kī̆ as the stem.
kiesen, vb., ‘to select,’ from MidHG. kiesen, OHG. chiosan, ‘to test, try, taste for the purpose of testing, test by tasting, select after strict examination.’ Goth. kiusan, AS. ceósan, E. to choose. Teut. root kus (with the change of s into r, kur in the partic. erkoren, see also Kur, ‘choice’), from pre-Teut. gus, in Lat. gus-tus, gus-tare, Gr. γεύω for γεύσω, Ind. root juš, ‘to select, be fond of.’ Teut. kausjun passed as kusiti into Slav.
Kieze, f., ‘small basket,’ ModHG. simply, in MidHG. kœ̂tze, f., ‘basket, basket for the back.’ Origin obscure.
Kilt, Kiltgang, in Alem. ‘nocturnal meeting’; wanting in MidHG. Comp. OHG. chwiltiwërch, n., ‘evening work’; OIc. kveld, n., ‘evening’ (in Iceland and Norway the usual word for evening, while aptann is used poetically and in stately prose). AS. cwyldhreþe, f., ‘bat,’ lit. ‘evening swiftness,’ cwyldsęten, ‘evening.’ Hence qeldos, n., is the oldest word for ‘evening.’ The loss of the w after k is normal; comp. feck, Rot, and Röder.
Kind, n., ‘child,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kint (gen. kindes), n., OHG. chind, n., ‘child’; corresponding to OSax. kind, n., ‘child’; wanting in Goth., Scand., and E., but a Goth. *kinþa- may be assumed, whence OSlov. čędo, ‘child,’ is borrowed. In OIc. a form kundr, m., ‘son,’ allied by gradation occurs, and with this an adj. suffix kunds, ‘descended from,’ may be most closely connected, Goth. himinakunds, ‘heavenly,’ qinakunds, ‘female,’ AS. feorrancund, ‘having a distant origin.’ This suffix is an old partic. in to (comp. alt, falt, laut, traut, Gott), from a root kun, ken, kan, which has numerous derivatives both in the Teut. and non-Teut. languages. The root signifies ‘to give birth to, beget’; comp. König and also Goth. kuni, OHG. chunni, MidHG. künne, n., ‘race’ (Goth. qêns, ‘woman,’ E. queen, are, however, unconnected). So too AS. cęnnan, ‘to give birth to, beget.’ Teut. ken, Aryan gen, has representatives in Gr. γένος, n., γί-γνομαι, γυνή, in Lat. genus, gigno, gens, in OSlov. žena, ‘wife’ (Pruss. gena, ‘wife’), in Lith. gentis, ‘relative,’ and in the Sans. root jan, ‘to generate,’ jánas, n., ‘race,’ janús, n., ‘birth, creature, race,’ janî, f., ‘woman,’ jantú, m., ‘child, being, tribe,’ jâtá, ‘son’ (the latter is most nearly connected with Teut. Kind).
Kinn, n., ‘chin,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kin, kinne, OHG. chinni, n. (also ‘jaw’). The older meaning, ‘cheek’ (Goth. kinnus, f., ‘cheek’), has been preserved in Kinnbein, ‘cheek-bone,’ in OHG. chinnizan, MidHG. kinnezan, ‘molar tooth,’ OHG. kinnibaccho, ‘jawbone’; comp. AS. čin, E. chin, AS. činbân, E. chin-bone, ModDu. kin, f., ‘chin’; OIc. kinn, ‘cheek.’ Comp. Gr. γένυς, f., ‘chin, jaw, jawbone,’ also ‘edge of an axe, axe,’ γένειον, n., ‘chin, jaw,’ γενείας, f., ‘chin, beard’; Lat. gena, ‘cheek,’ dentes genuini, ‘molar teeth’; Ir. gin, ‘mouth’; Sans. hánu-s, f., ‘jaw,’ hanavýa, ‘jawbone.’ Hence the meaning varies considerably between cheek, jaw, chin; the prim. sense of the root gen in this term cannot be ascertained. On account of the Gr. meaning ‘axe’ some deduce the word from a root gen, ‘to cut to pieces.’
​ Kipfel, dial., also Gipfel, m. and n., from the equiv. MidHG. kipfe, m., ‘roll of fine white bread pointed at both ends’ (Gipfel is a corrupt form); perhaps allied to OHG. chipfa, f., MidHG. kipfe, ‘drag of a wheel.’
Kippe, f., ‘brink, edge,’ from MidG. and LG.; the proper HG. form is Kipfe, meaning ‘point’ in Luther; earlier references are wanting. The nominal vb. kippen means ‘to cut of the point’; in the sense of ‘to strike,’ allied to OIc. kippa, ‘to strike,’ AS. cippian, with which ModHG. kappen is also connected.
Kirche, f., ‘church,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kirche (Swiss chilche), OHG. chirī̆hha (Swiss chī̆lihha), f.; corresponding to Du. kerk, AS. čiriče, čyriče, E. church. As is shown by the OHG. hh of chirī̆hha, the word must have existed before the OHG. period; names of places with Kirche are found in Germany even before the beginning of the 8th cent.; yet the word is unknown to Goth. (the terms used were gudhûs, ‘the house of God,’ gards or razn - bidô, ‘house of prayer’; also aíkklêsjô, ‘coetus christianorum’). The other Teut. tribes must, however, have adopted the term from Gr. through the medium of Goth. (comp. Pfaffe, also Heide, Taufe, and Teufel). It is true that Gr. κυριακή (with ἡμέρα understood) during the first ten centuries signified ‘Sunday’ exclusively, and only from the 11th cent. onwards did it obtain the meaning ‘house of the Lord.’ But since the word is foreign, we may assume that the gender of κυριακόν, ‘church’ (or its plur. κῦριακά), recorded from the 4th cent., was changed (OHG. chī̆rī̆hha, f.). Since the Gr. word was never current in the Romish Church (the LatRom. as well as the Kelt. term being ecclesia), we have in Kirche a term of the Greek Church, though in other cases the words adopted with Christianity are essentially Lat. (from Goth. *kyreika, Russ. cerkovĭ, and OSlov. crŭky are also probably derived). The introduction of Kirche through a Goth. medium was possible as late as the 9th cent. at least, for, according to Wal. Strabo, divine service was celebrated on the Lower Danube in the Goth. language even at that period. —
Kirchspiel, n., ‘parish,’ from MidHG. kirchspil, also kirspel; the second part of the compound is instinctively connected with Menschenspiel, yet its origin has not been definitely ascertained; some have referred it to Goth. spill, n., ‘speech’ (comp. Beispiel), and have defined Kirchspiel as ‘the district within which the decision of a church is paramount.’ This assumption is not quite satisfactory, because no connecting link between Kirchenwort, ‘decision of the church,’ and Kirchspiel, ‘parish,’ can be discovered. Following the explanation of Pfarre, we should rather assume some such meaning as ‘district, enclosure, forbearance,’ which is supported by AS. spelian, ‘to spare, protect’; comp. AS. spela, ‘representative’?. —
Kirchweih, f., ‘dedication of a church,’ from MidHG. kirchwîhe, f., which thus early signifies also ‘annual fair,’ and even ‘fête’ generally, OHG. chirihwîhî, f., prop. ‘dedication of a church’ (comp. Alem. Kilbe, chilbi).
Kirmes, f., ‘village fête,’ from MidHG. kirmësse, f., ‘dedication festival,’ for the unrecorded kirchmësse, just as MidHG. kirspil is a variant of kirchspel, n., ‘parish,’ and kirwîhe a variant of kirchwîhe, ‘dedication of a church.’ Kirmes (Du. kerkmis, kermis), lit. ‘mass to celebrate the dedication of a church’ (in Alem. chilbe, from kilchwîhe, Bav. kirta, from kirchtac). Comp. Messe.
kirre, adj., ‘tractable,’ from MidHG. kürre, MidG. kurre, kirre, adj., ‘tame, mild’; derived, by suppressing the w, from earlier OHG. *churri, *quirri; comp. Goth. qaírrus, ‘meek,’ OIc. kvirr, kyrr, adj., ‘still, quiet.’ Perhaps based on the Teut. root gër appearing in ModHG. Köder; yet Lith. gurti, ‘to grow weak, relax,’ gurus, ‘crumbling,’ may also be allied.
Kirsche, f., from the equiv. MidHG. kirse, kërse (Alem. chriesi), f., ‘cherry’ (for the change of s into sch comp. Arsch and Hirsch). OHG. chirsa (*chirissa), f., is certainly not derived from Lat. cerasum, but, like the cognate Rom. words, from ceręsia (prop. n. plur. of the adj. ceraseus?. Comp. Gr. κεράσιον, ‘cherry,’ κερασία, κερασέα, ‘cherry tree’), only with a Teut. accent; the Alem. form Kriese (from the prim. form krêsia, which perhaps appears also in Istrian kriss and Serv. kriješa), like Kirsche, is based too on the common primit. form with the Rom. accent; MidLat. *cerę́sea (Ital. ciregia, Fr. cerise); comp. also OSlov. črěšĭnja (primit. Slav. *čers-, from *kers-?). The adoption of the word by HG. occurred before the 7th cent., as is shown by the preservation of the initial c as k in HG. For a discussion of the period at which the word was ​borrowed, and of the gender of the Southern terms for fruit, see Pflaume.
Kissen, Küssen, n., ‘cushion,’ from MidHG. küssen, küssîn, OHG. chussī̆n, n., ‘cushion’; comp. Du. kussen, ‘cushion.’ The G. word is derived (comp. Pfühl and Flaum) from the equiv. MidLat. cussînus (Fr. coussin), which comes from Lat. *culcitinum, allied to culcita, ‘mattress, cushion’; E. cushion and Ital. cuscino are modern Fr. loan-words. The i of ModHG. Kissen comes from MidG. and UpG. dialects (comp. Pilz and Bims).
Kiste, f., ‘box,’ from MidHG. kiste, OHG. chista, f., ‘box, chest’; comp. Du. kist, AS. čest, čîste, E. chest, OIc. kista, ‘box.’ In Goth. a cognate term is wanting. The assumption that the Teut. languages borrowed Lat. cista (Gr. κίστη) at a very early period, at any rate long before the change of the initial c of cista into tz, presents no greater difficulty than in the case of Arche; comp. Korb, Koffer, and Sack. Hence between Kasten and Kiste there is no etymological connection; the first has no cognate term in Lat.
Kitt, m., from the equiv. MidHG. küte, küt, m., ‘cement, putty,’ OHG. chuti, quiti, ‘glue, birdlime,’ which makes it probable that the Goth. form was *qidus; comp. also AS. cwidu, ‘resin of trees.’ Prim. allied to Lat. bitumen, Sans. jatu, ‘resin of trees’; common type getú. Allied also to OIc. kváða, Swed. kåda, ‘resin,’ MidE. code, ‘pitch.’
Kittel, m., ‘smock-frock,’ from MidHG. kitel, kittel, m., ‘smock-frock, shirt, chemise.’ AS. cyrtel, E. kirtle, OIc. kyrtell, on account of the medial r and the abnormal dental correspondence, cannot be compared (they are allied to kurz). Its connection with χιτών is impossible. The origin of the HG. word has not been explained. The strong suspicion that it has been borrowed cannot be proved.
Kitze (1.), f., from the equiv. MidHG. kitze, kiz, n., OHG. chizzî, kizzîn, n., ‘kid’; from Teut. *kittîn, n., with the original dimin. suffix -îna, which appears in Küchelein and Schwein. Goth. *kidi (kidjis), n., may be deduced from OIc. kið, n., ‘she-goat,’ whence E. kid is borrowed (an E. word cognate with Scand. must have had an initial ch). Further, the assumed Goth. *kidi and *kittein, with medial dentals, are related to each other, just as the forms assumed under Ziege, tigô and tikkein, with medial gutturals. The close correspondence between Kitze and Zicke proves that they are related; both are pet names for Geiß, ‘goat’ (comp. Swiss gitzi for OHG. chitzî).
Kitze (2.), Kietze, f., ‘kitten, kid, fawn,’ not found in MidHG. and OHG., but probably existing in the vernacular, as is indicated by the specifically HG. tz compared with LG. tt (kitte); comp. MidE. chitte, ‘kitten,’ from an unrecorded AS. *citten (E. kitten); MidE. kitlung, E. kitling, are probably borrowed from Scand. ketlingr, ‘kitten.’ The cognates are related by gradation to Katze.
kitzeln, vb., ‘to tickle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kitzeln, kützeln, OHG. chizzilôn, chuzzilôn; comp. MidLG. ketelen, OIc. kitla; AS. cytelian (E. to kittle) is based on the prim. form *kutilôn. E. to tickle, MidE. tikelen, is based on a transposition of consonants in the root kit (so too Alem. zicklen, ‘to provoke’); comp. Essig, Fieber, Kabeljau, and Ziege. The Teut. root kit, kut, ‘to tickle,’ seems to have been coined anew in Teut. on an onomatopoetic basis; hence the OHG. variants chizzilôn, chuzzilôn. In cognate languages similar correspondences are formed anew; comp. Lett. kutēt, ‘to tickle.’ The subst. Kitzel, m., ‘tickling,’ first occurs in ModHG. and is formed from the vb.; comp. Handel.
klabastern, vb., ‘to run noisily,’ ModHG. only; orig. a LG. term; in consequence of the entire absence of the word in the earlier periods of the languages its origin is dubious; it is most probably akin to OHG. klaphôn, MidHG. klaffen, ‘to clatter’; AS. clappian, E. to clap.
Kladde, f., ‘rough draft, day-book,’ ModHG. only, from LG. kladde, ‘impurity, dirt,’ then ‘rough draft’; further details for the elucidation of the LG. word (comp. klaterig) are wanting.
Klaff, m., ‘crash, yelp, bark,’ from MidHG. klaf (gen. klaffes) and klapf, m., ‘report, crack,’ OHG. klaph, m., anaklaph, ‘shock’; MidHG. klaffen, klapfen, ‘to ring, resound,’ ûf klaffen, ‘to break asunder, open, gape,’ OHG. chlaphôn; Goth. *klappôn is wanting; AS. clappian, E. to clap. ‘Resounding’ is the prim. meaning of the stem klapp, while ‘cracking, bursting, gaping’ is the derivative sense; comp. Klapp and klopfen.
Klafter, n., m., and f., ‘fathom,’ from MidHG. klâfter, f., m., and n., OHG. ​chlâftra, f., ‘length of the outstretched arms, fathom’; for a similar development of meaning comp. Elle, Faden, also Spanne and Fuß. Goth. *klêftra or *klêftri, f., is wanting, so too the corresponding forms in the cognate languages. Its connection with AS. clyppan, E. to clip, ‘to embrace,’ Swiss χlupfel, ‘armful of hay’ (Teut. root klē̆p), makes it probable that the word is related to Lith. glěbti, ‘to encircle with the arms,’ glėbýs, ‘armful,’ glóbti, ‘to embrace’ (root glêb). The MidHG. variant lâfter (lâhter), f. and n., ‘fathom,’ is obscure.
Klage, f., from the equiv. MidHG. klage, OHG. chlaga, f., ‘complaint,’ prop. ‘a wail as an expression of pain’; wanting in all the early periods of the OTeut. languages except OHG.; adopted as a legal term in ModIc. in the form of klögun. ModHG and MidHG. klagen, from OHG. chlagôn. The pre-Teut. root is probably glak or glagh; yet cognates are wanting.
Klamm, m., ‘spasm in the throat,’ from MidHG. klam (gen. klammes), m., ‘cramp, oppression, fetter’; corresponding to AS. clom (o before m, or rather mm, for a), m., f., and n., ‘firm grip, talon, claw, fetter’;. also OHG. chlamma, MidHG. klamme, f. ModHG. klemmen, ‘to squeeze,’ from MidHG. klęmmen (OHG. bichlęmmen), ‘to seize with the claws, squeeze in, press together’; comp. AS. beclęmman, OIc. klemma. — ModHG. Klemme, f., ‘defile,’ from MidHG. klemme, klemde, f., ‘narrowness, cramping,’ OHG. not yet found.
Klammer, f., ‘cramp, clamp, brace,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klammer, klamer, klamere, f., OHG. *klamara, f., is wanting; Scand. klǫmbr (gen. klambrar), f., ‘vice,’ and MidHG. klamere point to a Goth. *klamra or *klamara, f., which is connected with the Teut. root klam, ‘to press together,’ appearing in Klamm. The equiv. MidHG. klampfer, f., and the ModHG. dial. forms Klamper (Bav.) and Klampfer (Carinthian) are abnormal; comp. also E. clamp and the equiv. Du. klamp, m.; the labial following the m presents some difficulties. Comp. the next word.
Klampe, f., ‘clamp,’ not yet found in MidHG.; from LG.; comp. Du. klamp, ‘cramp, cleats.’ The strictly HG. form is Klampfe (Bav., Austr.), ‘cramp’; comp. Du. klamp, E. clamp, and the equiv. Scand. klampi.
Klang, m., ‘sound, clang,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klanc (gen. klanges), m., with the variant klanc (gen. klankes), OHG. chlang; comp. Du. klank, m., ‘clang, sound,’ as well as E. clank and clang; AS. *clong, *clonc, are wanting, so too Goth. *klaggs and *klagks; comp. also MidHG. klunc (klunges), m., ‘sound,’ and klinc (klinges), m., ‘tone, clangour.’ The form klank with a final k is to be regarded perhaps like falzen compared with falten, Zicke with Ziege, and Kitze with OIc. kið (comp. also krank), i.e., k represents kk for Aryan kn; glank (or rather glangh) is perhaps the Aryan root of the Teut. cognates, unless we are tempted to regard Klang (comp. klingen) as a new onomatopoetic word (comp. Gr. κλαγγή, Lat. clangor).
Klapp, m., ‘clap, slap, blow,’ ModHG. only, adopted from LG., like its cognates (Klappe, klappen, Klapps). Only klappern, vb., ‘to clatter,’ is current in MidHG. without any presumption of its being borrowed; perhaps it is onomatopoetic. ModHG. Klapp, ‘blow,’ is phonetically MidHG. klapf, klaf, m., ‘report, crack’; comp. Klaff.
klar, adj., ‘clear, bright; evident,’ from MidHG.. klâr, ‘bright, pure, beautiful’; adopted in MidHG. from Lat. clârus; E. clear, MidE. clêr, is borrowed from Fr. clair.
klaterig, adj., ‘slovenly,’ a LG. word; prop. ‘dirty and wet’ (of the weather), then used especially in a figurative sense; comp. LG. klaten, ‘dirt, dung,’ allied to Kladde.
klatsch, ‘clap,’ onomat. interj., ModHG. simply; allied to onomat. cognates for ‘to resound’; comp. Du. kletsen, ‘to crack a whip,’ E. to clash.
klauben, vb., ‘to pick or dig out, cull, from MidHG. klûben, OHG. chlûbôn, ‘to pluck to pieces, cleave’; Goth *klûbôn is wanting. The Teut. root klū̆b anciently formed another vb.; see klieben, under which further references are given.
Klaue, f., ‘claw, talon, fang,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klâwe, klâ, OHG. chlâwa, chlôa, f. (comp. Braue, from OHG. brâwa). The variants in MidHG. and OHG. render it difficult to determine the Goth. form; AS. clâ, cleá, cleó (plur. clâwe), clawu (ă?) are also difficult to explain phonetically; Goth. *klêwa, f., is probable, although OIc. kló allows us to infer a graded form, *klôwa, f. The common Teut. stem means ​'claw,’ but it is not found in the non-Teut. languages. The root is klu, pre-Teut. glu (comp. Knäuel); OIc. klá, ‘to scratch, shave,’ based on a Teut. klah, is scarcely connected with these cognates.
Klause, f., ‘cell,’ from MidHG. klûse, klûs, f., ‘hermitage, cell,’ also ‘monastery,’ OHG. chlûsa. MidLat. clausa, clusa, clausum, closum, with the meanings ‘locus seu ager sepibus vel muris septus aut clausus,’ also ‘monastery’; hence the HG. word is based on clusa, which is a later participial form, due to clûsus, the partic. of the compounds of claudere, in place of the earlier clausus (comp. Ital. chiusa). On the other hand, MidHG. klôse, klôs, f., ‘hermitage, monastery,’ with the derivative klôsenœre, ‘hermit’ (comp. MidLat. clausarius, ‘monk,’ but clûsinaria, f., ‘virgo deo sacra reclusa’), is based on MidLat. clausa, *clôsa (comp. clôsum). The MidHG. meanings of klôse, klûse, ‘rocky cleft, defile, ravine,’ are connected with MidLat. clûsa, ‘angustus montium aditus.’ Comp. also Kloster, AS. clûs, f., ‘cell.’
Klausel, f., ‘clause,’ in use since the 15th cent., from Lat. clausula.
kleben, vb., ‘to cleave (to),’ from MidHG. klëben, OHG. chlëbên, vb., ‘to cleave, adhere, hold on’ (for ë from Teut. and Aryan ĭ comp. Quecksilber, leben, verwesen, &c.); corresponding to OSax. kliƀôn, AS. cleofian, E. to cleave; Goth. *klibôn is wanting; Scand. klifa has only the figurative sense ‘to cling to,’ i.e., ‘to repeat.’ A common Teut. vb. meaning ‘to cleave (to),’ formed from the weakest vowel stage of the Teut. root klī̆b (see kleiben).
Kleck, Klecks, m., ‘blot,’ ModHG. simply; only the vb. klecken (klecksen) may be traced farther back, MidHG. klęcken, ‘to blot, stain, sputter,’ also ‘to strike sonorously’; the corresponding klac (ckes), m., signifies ‘rent, slit, crack.’
Klee, m., ‘clover,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klê (gen. k'êwes), m., OHG. chlê, chlêo (gen. chlêwes). m. and n.; based on klaiw- (see See, Schnee). The remaining LG. dials., have an extended form, in some cases only partially corresponding, AS. clœ̂fre, clâfre, f., E. clover, Du. klaver, LG. klever and klȧver, ‘clover.’ Perhaps these are based on some obscure compound. Except in the West Teut. languages, too, there are no terms cognate with HG. Klee; in Scand., Ic. smári (smœrur), Norw. and Swed. (dial.) smœre are used; Dan. klöver is borrowed.
Klei, m., ‘clay,’ ModHG. only, from LG. klei, ‘slime, loam, moist earth,’ allied to Du. klei, f., ‘marsh soil, clay, loam'; comp. E. clay, from AS. clœ̂g. An assumed Goth. *kladdja, f., may be connected with the root klai, by gradation klî, meaning ‘to cleave (to),’ which has a wider ramification in OTeut.; AS. clâm (from klaim), ‘loam, clay,’ E. (dial.) cloam, ‘pottery,’ OHG. chleimen, Scand. kleima, klîna, ‘to besmear’; comp. Kleister and klein. It corresponds in the non-Teut. languages to Gr. γλοι, by gradation γλι; comp. γλοιός, ‘oil lees, clammy stuff,’ as well as γλίνη and γλιά, ‘glue'; Lat. glus, gluten, with û for older oi; OSlov. glina, ‘clay,’ glěnŭ, ‘slime’ (Lett. glĭwe, ‘slime’?). Further MidHG. klënen, ‘to cleave (to), spread over,’ is connected with the Gr. and Slav. noun with the suffix na.
kleiben, vb., ‘to stick, glue,’ from MidHG. and OHG. kleiben, ‘to fix firmly, fasten,’ prop. ‘to cause to adhere or hold on'; a causative of the vb. klîben, obsolete in ModHG. and rarely found even in MidHG. OHG. chlîban, OSax. biklîƀan, ‘to cleave, adhere.’ OIc. klífa, ‘to climb,’ proves the connection of ModHG. klimmen (which see) with the root klī̆b, klī̆f, ‘to cleave (to),’ from pre-Teut. glī̆p (Teut. f in Swiss χlefe, ‘box on the ear.’
Kleid, n., ‘dress,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kleit (gen. kleides), n.; wanting in OHG. till the middle of the 12th cent.; hence the word is supposed to be borrowed from Du. kleed. Unknown orig. to OSax. also, as well as to Goth. and several AS. records (AS. clâþ, n., ‘cloth, dress,’ E. cloth; OIc. klœ́þi, m., ‘stuff, cloth, dress’). The history of the word, which is more widely diffused in the modern Teut. languages, is obscure on account of the want of early references and the divergence of the earliest recorded forms, AS clûþ, n., and OIc. klœ́ði, n. (the latter too has an abnormal â instead of ei for the Teut. oi). If the dental of AS. clâþ be regarded as derivative (Goth. *klai-þa), we may infer from the AS. and OIc. meaning ‘stuff, cloth’ (AS. cildclâþ, prop. ‘child's clothes,’ with the special sense ‘swaddling cloth’), a root klai signifying perhaps ‘to weave.’
Kleie, f., ‘bran,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klîe, usually plur. klîen, with the earlier variant klîwen, OHG. chlîa, chlîwa, ​plur. chlîwûn, f.; wanting in Goth., E., and Scand.; comp. further MidLG. clîge, Mod. Du. wanting; Swed. kli, ‘bran.’
klein, adj., ‘little,’ from MidHG. klein, kleine, adj., ‘clean, pretty, fine, prudent, slender, lean, little, insignificant'; OHG. chleini, ‘pretty, shining, neat, careful, slight’ (Alem. dials. point to an OHG. variant *chlîni). AS. clœ̂ne, adj., ‘clean, neat,’ E. clean, proves that ‘pretty, clean,’ is the prim. idea of the various senses of the MidHG. word (comp. Schmach). Scand. klénn was borrowed at a late period from E., LG., or Fris. Goth. *klai-ni- is wanting; the nasal belongs, as in several other adjs. (see rein and schön), to the suffix. It is uncertain whether the root is to be connected with Gr. γλαι-όι ‘greasy, sticky oil,’ and its cognates, discussed under Klei (the meanings ‘to shine, cleave (to)' interchange, e.g., in the root λιπ, Gr. λιπα, λίπαρέω, λιπος, λιπαρός). Gr. γλήμη, n., ‘wonders, ornaments,’ and γλήη, ‘pupil (of the eye),’ are, however, both on account of their forms and meanings, still less allied. —
Kleinod, n., ‘jewel,’ from MidHG. kleinôt, n., with the variants kleinœte, kleinœde, n., lit. ‘fine, pretty thing,’ then ‘costliness, ornament,’ not recorded in OHG.; ôt is a suffix (see Heimat, Armut, and Einöde). Hence the derivative has retained another feature of the earlier varied senses.
Kleister, m. and f., ‘paste,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klîster, m., with the equiv. variant klënster based on the vb. klënen; OHG. chlîstar and Goth. *kleistra- are wanting; stra is a suffix, as in Laster; the stem klî is the root klî, by gradation klai, ‘to cleave (to)’ (discussed under Klei and klein), which forms a vb. only in OHG., but it passes at the same time into the e-class, chlënan, ‘to cleave (to), smear,’ for kli-na-n, with na as a suffix of the pres., as in Lat. and Gr. (sper-ne-re, li-ne-re, δάκνειν, &c.); comp. MidHG. klënen, vb., Ic. klína, ‘to smear,’ klíningr, ‘bread and butter,’ klístra, ‘to paste.’
klempern, vb., ‘to tinkle,’ ModHG. simply, allied to MidHG. klamben, klampfern, ‘to clamp’; Klempner, ‘tinker,’ also ModHG. simply, allied to the equiv. MidHG. klampfer.
klenken, vb., ‘to force the seeds from cones by heat,’ from MidHG. klęngen, klęnken, ‘to cause to ring’; factit. of klingen, which see; comp. henken, allied to hangen.
Klepper, m., ‘nag,’ early ModHG., orig. not in a contemptuous sense; a LG. form; it is connected with LG. kleppen, ‘to strike rapidly’ (espec. also ‘to ring with a sharp sound’), MidHG. klepfen. Perhaps the term Klepper is derived from the bells on the harness of the horse.
Klette, f., ‘bur,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klëtte, f., with the variant klëte; OHG. chlëtto, m., chlëtta, f. (also OHG. chlëta). AS. cliþe, clâte, f., E. clotbur, ‘large bur’; further from the root klī̆b, ‘to cleave (to), adhere’ (comp. kleben), the equiv. OHG. chlîba, AS. clîfe, MidE. clîve, as well as MidDu. klijve, MidLG. klîve; finally also ModDu. klis, f., ‘bur.’ OHG. chlëtta is the most closely connected with AS. cliþe. It has been compared with Lat. glis (ss) as a cognate. From the G. word, OFr. gleton, gletteron, and ModFr. glouteron are derived. Comp. also the next word.
klettern, vb., ‘to climb,’ early ModHG only, probably allied to Kette, and derived like the latter from a root meaning ‘to cleave (to)’; comp. kleben and klimmen. Akin to Du. klauteren, LG. klâtern, klattern, South Franc. klôteren, ‘to mount, climb’ (with an abnormal vowel and dental); root klêt?.
klieben, vb., ‘to split,’ from MidHG. klieben, OHG. chlioban, vb., ‘to split, cleave’; corresponding to OSax. clioƀan, AS. cleófan, E. to cleave. From the correspondence of the other Teut. dials. we may assume Goth. *klûban, *kliuban, ‘to split.’ Under klauben a vb. from the same root klū̆b, by gradation kleub, ‘to work with a sharp instrument,’ has been discussed, to which is allied Gr. γλυφ (γλύφω, ‘to hollow out, carve,’ γλύανος, ‘chisel,’ γλύπτης, ‘carver’), perhaps also Lat. glûbo, ‘to peel.’ With the Aryan root glū̆bh, by gradation gleubh, Kloben, Kluft, and Kluppe are also connected.
klimmen, vb., ‘to climb,’ from a MidHG. klimmen, klimben, OHG. climbun, str. vb., ‘to climb, mount’; corresponding to AS. climban, E. to climb. The nasal was orig. a part of the pres. stem; it did not belong to the root, as is proved by OIc. klífa, vb., ‘to climb.’ As to the identity of klimban with OTeut. klîban, ‘to cleave (to), hold firm,’ comp. kleiben; hence klimmen is prop. ‘to adhere.’
klimpern, vb.,‘to clink,’ ModHG. only, a new onomatopoetic term.
Klinge (1.), f., from the equiv. MidHG. klinge, f., ‘sword-blade’; the word, which is not recorded in OHG., is ​bably a derivative of klingen (from the ringing sound made by the sword on the helmet).
Klinge (2.), f., ‘ravine,’ from MidHG. klinge, f., ‘mountain stream,’ OHG. chlinga, chlingo, m., ‘torrent’; like Klinge (1), a derivative of klingen.
klingeln, vb., ‘to ring,’ from MidHG. klingelen, OHG. chlingilôn, vb., ‘to sound, roar, splash,’ dimin. and frequent. of klingen.
klingen, vb., ‘to sound,’ from MidHG. klingen, OHG. chlingan, str. vb., ‘to sound, resound’; corresponding to Ic. klingja, ‘to ring.’ E. to clink has adopted the same final stem sound (k for g), which the subst. clank, connected with it by gradation (comp. Klang and klenken), has always had. The stem, like the derivative Klang (comp. also Klinge, Klinke, and klenken), is common to Teut., but on account of the non-permutation it cannot be cognate with Gr. κλαγγή, Lat. clangor. Both roots are independent onomatopoetic forms in each separate language.
Klinke, f., ‘latch,’ from MidHG. klinke, f., ‘bolt of a door’; allied to klingen.
Klinse, Klinze, f., ‘cleft,’ from MidHG. klinse, klimse, and with a different stage of gradation klunse, klumse, klumze, f., ‘slit’; OHG. *chlumuȥa, chlimuȥa, is wanting. Origin obscure.
Klippe, f., ‘cliff,’ from the equiv. MidHG. (Lower Rhen.) klippe, f., borrowed from MidDu. klippe; comp. Du. klip; allied to a Teut. root klib, as is shown by OIc. kleif, n., ‘cliffs’; comp. also AS. clif, n., E. cliff, OIc. klif, n., OSax. klif, OHG. klëb, n., all pointing to a Goth. *klif, klibis, n., ‘rock, hill’ They have been connected with Ic. klífa, vb., ‘to climb’ (see under kleiben), but on account of the prim. meaning ‘to cleave (to),’ this is scarcely satisfactory.
klippern, vb., ‘to click,’ ModHG. only, a recent onomatopoetic term.
klirren, vb., ‘to clash,’ ModHG. only, a recent onomatopoetic term.
Kloben, m., ‘log of wood, block, pulley,’ from MidHG. klobe, m., ‘log of wood with a slit to act as a vice, fetter, stick with a slit for catching birds, bolt, slit,’ &c.; OHG. chlobo, m., ‘stick for catching birds’; allied to klieben, MidHG. klieben, vb., ‘to split, cleave’ (comp. Bogen, allied to biegen). OLG. kloðo, m., ‘fetter’; OIc. klofe, m., ‘crevice in a rock, door joint’; Du. kloof, f., ‘slit, rift, cleft.’ Comp. Knoblauch.
klopfen, vb., ‘to knock,’ from MidHG. klopfen, OHG. chlopfôn, wk. vb., ‘to knock, rap’; Goth. *kluppôn is not warranted by corresponding forms in the other OTeut. dials.; comp. also Du. kloppen. Further, OHG. chlocchôn, MidHG. klocken, ‘to knock,’ which are not indubitably allied to klopfen. With the latter the cognates discussed under Klaff are connected by gradation, and these point to a Goth. *klappôn, ‘to strike.’
Kloster, m., ‘monastery,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. klôster, n., borrowed on the introduction of Christianity from MidLat. and Rom. claustrum (Ital. chiostro, Fr. cloître), ‘monastery’; comp. Klause.
Kloß, m., ‘clod, dumpling,’ from MidHG. klôȥ, m. and n., ‘lump, bulb, clew, bullet, pommel of a sword, wedge,’ OHG. chlôȥ, m., ‘ball, round mass, bowl (at play)’; corresponding to MidLG. klûte, Du. kloot, m., ‘bullet, ball.’ AS. *cleát, E. cleat, ‘wedge’ (Ic. klót, ‘pommel of a sword,’ has an abnormal ô for au, which indicates that the word has been borrowed, unless it is cognate with Lat. glâdius). Goth. *klauta- is wanting; the Teut. root klut appears also in the following word.
Klotz, m. and n., ‘block, log, stump,’ from MidHG. kloz (gen. klotzes), m. and n., ‘lump, bullet,’ hence equiv. to MidHG. klôȥ; AS. *clott, E. clot; we may therefore assume Goth. *klutta-, the relation of which to klauta-, mentioned under Kloß, is evident. In the non-Teut. languages the Teut. root klut (‘bale’?), adduced under Kloß, has not been definitely authenticated; a root glud appears in Lith. gludus, ‘clinging to,’ glausti, ‘to cling to.’
Klucke, Glucke, f., ‘clucking hen,’ from MidHG. klucke. f., ‘brood hen,’ allied to MidHG. and ModHG. klucken (glucken). Comp. AS. cloccian, E. to cluck, Du. klokken. The Teut. cognate, klukk, is of onomatopoetic origin; comp. the phonetic cognates, Lat. glôcîre, Gr. γλώζειν, ‘to cluck.’
Kluft, f., ‘chasm,’ from MidHG. kluft, f., ‘cleft, chasm, cave, vault, tongs,’ OHG. chluft, f., ‘tongs, shears,’ prop. ‘splitting’ (as a verbal abstract of the OTeut. kliuban, ‘to split,’ discussed under klieben). The tongs, as an instrument with a slit, is called dial. Kluft; comp. Kluppe. The MidHG. meaning ‘vault’ (crypta) seems to be due to a confusion of Kluft with the foreign word crypta (see Gruft). Goth. *klufti-, f.; ​AS. *clyft, E. cleft, clift, Du. kluft, f., ‘cleft, notch, chasm.’
klug, adj., ‘knowing, prudent, shrewd,’ from MidHG. kluoc (g), ‘fine, pretty, tender, superb, brave, polite, prudent, sly’; in OHG. not recorded, whether by chance or no is not known. It is thought to have been borrowed from LG., although the word in the non-HG. languages has a final k, LG. klôk, Du. klock, ‘prudent, brave, great, corpulent’ (not found in E.; Scand. klókr, ‘prudent, cunning,’ is supposed to be a G. loan-word). No clue to an etymological explanation of the adj. can be discovered.
Klumpe, Klumpen, m., ‘slump, lump,’ ModHG. only; from the equiv. LG. klamp, Du. klomp, m.; comp. E. clump. Scand. klumba, f., ‘club,’ with a different labial, also a variant klubba; klubbu-fótr, whence the equiv. E. ‘club-foot.’ Further references have not been discovered. Comp. Kolben.
Klüngel, n., ‘clew,’ from MidHG. *klüngel, klüngelîn, OHG. chlungilîn, n., ‘clew,’ dimin. of OHG. chlunga, f., ‘clew’; if ng be a suffix, as in jung, the word may be allied to Knäuel, OHG. chliuwa (root klu, Aryan glu), in which case it would be brought into connection with other terms; it is, however, more probably allied to E. to cling, from AS. clingan, ‘to cling to, hold fast, adhere.’
Klunker, f., ‘clot, tassel,’ ModHG. only; allied to MidHG. klungeler, ‘tassel,’ glunke, f., ‘dangling curl,’ glunkern, ‘to swing, dangle.’
Kluppe, f., ‘pincers,’ from MidHG. kluppe, f., ‘tongs, barnacles, splinter,’ OHG. kluppa, f., ‘tongs.’ Kluppe, like ModHG. Kluft (dial.) ‘tongs,’ is also derived from OTeut. kliuban, ‘to split, cleave’; unfortunately correspondences in other dialects are wanting (Goth. *klubjô?). Comp. klieben, klauben, and Kluft.
Knabe, m., ‘boy, lad, youth,’ from MidHG., late OHG. chnabo, m., ‘boy’; also ‘youth, fellow, servant,’ with the originally equiv. variants, ModHG. Knappe, MidHG. knappe, OHG. chnappo (OHG. chnabo and chnappo are related like Nabe and Nappe). AS. cnapa, OSax. knapo, and OIc. knape, ‘attendant, squire,’ present some difficulties compared with AS. cnafa, E. knave. Equally obscure is the relation of the entire class to the root ken, Aryan gen (Lat. genus, gi-gn-o, Gr. γένος, γι-γν-ομαι, &c.), with which some etymologists would like to connect it; if it were allied, OHG. chnëht (kn-ëht) also might perhaps be compared.
knacken, vb., ‘to crack,’ from MidHG. knacken, gnacken, ‘to split, crack,’ wanting in OHG.; E. knack, MidE. cnak, ‘crack,’ Ic. knakkr; ModHG. Knack, ‘crack,’ MidHG. not yet found. To the same root OIc. knoka, AS. cnocian, E. to knock, formed by gradation, seem to belong. The words are based on an imitative root which is peculiar to Teut.
Knall, m., ‘sharp report, explosion,’ ModHG. only; allied to MidHG. er-knëllen, ‘to resound.’ Comp. AS. cnyll, cnell, m., ‘signal given by a bell,’ E. knell.
Knan, Knän, m., ‘father,’ from MidHG. genanne, gnanne, from genamne, prop., ‘of the same name’ (for MidHG. ge- comp. gleich and Geselle), ‘namesake.’ Used even in MidHG. by sons addressing their father or grandfather.
knapp, adj., ‘scanty,’ ModHG. only; wanting in MidHG. and OHG.; probably from LG., for gehnapp. Comp. OIc. hneppr, ‘narrow.’
Knappe, m., ‘squire, attendant,’ from MidHG. knappe, m., ‘youth, bachelor, servant, squire,’ OHG. chnappo, m.; in the rest of the OTeut. languages there are no cognates pointing to Goth. *knabba; two variants of the assumed *knabba are mentioned under Knabe, where the further etymological question is discussed. Comp. also Nabe with Nappe, Goth. laigân, ‘to lick,’ with AS. liccian.
knappen, vb., ‘to make scarce, hobble, nibble,’ ModHG. only, from Du. knappen, ‘to eat, lay hold of quickly.’ —
Knappsack, ‘knapsack,’ from Du. knap-zack, ‘saddlebag,’ whence probably also E. knapsack.
knarren, vb., ‘to creak,’ from MidHG. knarren, gnarren, ‘to creak, snarl’; a recent onomatopoetic term like knirren and knurren.
Knaster, m., ‘best tobacco,’ borrowed at the beginning of the 18th cent. from Du. knaster, kanaster, m., ‘canister tobacco,’ which comes from Span. canastro, ‘basket’ (comp. Lat. and Gr. canistrum, κάναστρον).
Knäuel, m. and n., ‘clew,’ from MidHG. kniuwel, kniulîn, kniul, n., ‘small clew or ball’; the n by differentiation represents l on account of the final l (see Knoblauch); MidHG. kliuwel, kliuwelîn, dimins. of MidHG. kliuwe, n., ‘clew, ball’; ​OHG. chliuwelîn, dimin. of chliuwa, chliwa, f., ‘ball, clew’; AS. cleówe, clŷwe, n., MidE. cleewe, E. clew; also AS. cleówen, clŷwen, m. like MidG. klûwen, Du. kluwen, ‘skein.’ OHG. also kliwi, kliuwi, n., MidHG. kliuwe, n., ‘clew.’ A richly developed nominal stem peculiar to West Teut.; the Goth. form is probably *kliwi (kliujis), n. or *kliujô, n.; the root klū̆, by gradation klē̆u, appears also perhaps in Klaue (Goth. *klêwa), which in that case was so called from its contracting; comp. Lat. gluere, ‘to contract,’ glûma, ‘husk,’ also Sans. glâus, ‘bale,’ hence Aryan root glu. Lat. glŏbus and glŏmus are not connected with this word.
Knauf, m., ‘button, pommel,’ from MidHG. knouf, m., ‘pommel (of a sword), pinnacle,’ also a dimin. knoufel, knöufel, m., OHG. *chnouf not recorded; Goth. *knaups is also indicated by Du. knoop, m., ‘button, knob.’ A Goth. graded form *knupps may likewise be inferred from the cognates discussed under Knopf, which see.
Knauser, m., ‘niggard,’ ModHG. only, probably from MidHG. knûȥ, ‘impudent, daring, haughty (towards the poor).’
Knebel, m., ‘branch, peg, moustache, knuckle,’ from MidHG. knębel, m., OHG. knębil, ‘crossbeam, girder, crossbar, cord, fetter, knuckle’; Du. knevel, m., ‘packing stick’; Scand. knefill, m., ‘stake, stick’; Goth. *knabils is wanting. Considering the relation of Goth. *nabala, m., ‘navel,’ to Gr. ὀμφαλός, we may assume for Goth. *knabils, a root gombh (gonbh) in the non-Teut. languages (comp. γόμφος, ‘plug, nail, wedge’; this word, however, is usually connected with the cognates of ModHG. Kamm). — It is still doubtful whether Knebel in Knebelbart ‘(twisted) moustache,’ first recorded in ModHG. and borrowed from LG. and Du., is of a different origin, i.e. connected with AS. cęnep, OFris. kenep, OIc. kanpr (Goth. *kanipa-), ‘moustache,’ MidDu. canefbeen, ‘cheek-bone.’
Knecht, m., ‘servant,’ from MidHG. knëht, OHG. chnëht, m., ‘boy, youth, fellow, man, squire,’ often also ‘hero’; comp. AS. cniht, m., ‘boy, youth, man capable of bearing arms, hero,’ E. knight; probably a West Teut. word, unknown to Goth. and Scand. (Dan. knegt and Swed. knekt are borrowed). The same variety of meanings in West Teut. words is found in Knabe and Knappe (comp. also AS. mago, ‘son, boy, man, champion,’ see too Kerl). However probable its close connection with Knabe and Knappe may be, yet it is not possible to define it strictly. Kneckt is more probably allied to the root ken, from Aryan gen (Lat. genus, γένος, Lat. gi-gn-o, γίγνομας), than Knabe, because a suffix -ëht exists in Teut.
kneifen, vb., ‘to nip,’ ModHG. only, a Phonetic rendering of LG. knîpen, adopted by the written language. Comp. kneipen.
Kneipe, f., ‘pincers, gripes,’ ModHG. only, of obscure origin; its cognate relation to kneipen can only be assumed, since an older connecting link between it and Kneipe, ‘tavern,’ is wanting; orig. Kneipe was a low tavern. Is it related to Du. knijp, f., ‘narrowness, embarrassment’? or rather Du. knijp, m., ‘bird-snare, brothel’?
kneipen, vb. ‘to pinch,’ early ModHG., orig. LG. knîpen (see also kneifen); Du. knijpen, ‘to nip, twitch’; probably not allied to AS. hnîpan, hnipian, ‘to bow,’ but to a root hnîp, ‘to nip,’ not recorded in OTeut., from which also MidE. nipen, E. to nip, are derived; kn initially may be explained from *gahnîpan. The pre-Teut. root knîb appears in Lith. knìbti, ‘to pick, pluck,’ knèbti, ‘to nip.’ If the E. word is unconnected with Du. knijpen on account of the initial sound, we might assume a root knîb, gnîb (Lith. gnýbti, ‘to nip,’ gnýbis, ‘nip’), though this too is not recorded in OTeut.
kneten, vb., ‘to knead,’ from the equiv. MidHG. knëten, OHG. chnëtan; comp. MidLG. and Du. kneden, ‘to knead,’ AS. cnëdan, MidE. cneden, E. to knead; a Goth. *knidan, or rather *knudan (comp. treten), ‘to knead,’ may be assumed; Scand. has only a wk. knoða, pointing to Goth. *knudan. Since HG. t, LG., E., and Goth. d may have originated in t owing to earlier positions of the accents (comp. Vater, AS. fœder, with Lat. pater, Gr. πατήρ), gnet may be regarded as the pre-Teut. root. Comp. OSlov. gnetą, gmesti, ‘to crush, knead.’
knicken, vb., ‘to crack,’ ModHG. only; from LG. knikken, ‘to burst, split, crack’; E. (dial.) to knick, ‘to crack.’
Knie, n., ‘knee,’ from MidHG. knie, kniu (gen. knies, kniewes), OHG. chniu, chneo (gen. chnëwes, chniwes), n., ‘knee’; comp. Du. knie, f., AS. cneó (gen. cneowes), n., MidE. cnee, E. knee; Goth. kniu (gen. kniwis), n., ‘knee’; a common O. and ModTeut. word with the prim. meaning ‘knee,’ which also belongs to the allied Aryan words; genu-, gonu-, gnu- are the Aryan ​stems of the word; comp. Lat. genu, Gr. γόνυ (comp. γνυ-πετεῖν, γνύξ, ἰγνύαλ), Sans. iŭnu, n., ‘knee’ (abhijñu, ‘down to the knee,’ jñu-bãdh, ‘kneeling’). This Aryan stem gnu had when declined the variant gnew-, which appears extended in Teut. by the a of the a-declension, Goth. kniwa-. The shorter Teut. form knu-, Aryan gnu-, has been retained in Goth. *knu-ssus (inferred from knussjan, ‘to kneel’), ‘kneeling’ (the suffix -ssus is current in Goth.), and probably also in OIc. knúe, m., ‘knuckle’ (presupposing Goth. *knuwa, m.); there are also some abnormal l-derivatives, MidE. cnélien, E. to kneel, Du. knielen, and Swiss chnüle, ‘to kneel.’
Kniff, m., ‘pinch,’ ModHG. only, allied to kneifen; Du. kneep, f., ‘pinch, pinching.’
Knirps, m., ‘pigmy,’ ModHG. only, a MidG. word, by syncope from *knürbes, knirbes (comp. LG. knirfix, Lower Rhen. knirwes), MidE. närvel, nirvel (AS. *cnyrfel?), ‘pigmy,’ are formed with a different dimin. termination. Allied to Suab. knorp, ‘pigmy’; and to Du. knorf, ‘knot’?.
knirren, vb., ‘to creak,’ from MidHG. knirren, ‘to jar.’ A recent imitative word.
knirschen, vb., ‘to gnash,’ MidHG. *knirsen, may be inferred from knirsunge, f., ‘gnashing,’ and zerknürsen, ‘to crush, squash’; for sch from s after r comp. Hirsch and Arsch; comp. ModDu. knarsen, knersen, ‘to gnash, crash,’ knarsetanden, ‘to gnash with the teeth.’
knistern, vb., ‘to crackle,’ from MidHG. *knisten, on which the noun knistunge, f., ‘gnashing,’ is based; an onomnatopoetic formation.
Knittelvers, m., ‘doggerel,’ ModHG. only; Knittel for Knüttel, ‘cudgel.’ E. staff, in the sense of ‘stick,’ and also ‘verse, strophe, stanza,’ may be adduced as an approximate parallel. The Dutchman Junius says of the refrain in Du. popular songs, ‘In vulgaribus rhythmis versum identidem repetitum scipionem ant baculm appellant’; the Romans had versus rhopalici, the Scandinavians the stef.
knittern, vb., ‘to rumple,’ ModHG. only; an imitative word.
knobeln, vb., ‘to fillip,’ ModHG. only, allied to a widely diffused dial. form knöbel (UpG.), knöwel (MidG. and LG.), ‘joint,’ espec. of the fingers.
Knoblauch, m., ‘garlic,’ from MidHG. knobelouch, m., with the orig. variant klobelouch, m., OHG. chlobolouh, chlofolouh, chlo volouh, m.; with regard to b for f, comp. Schwefel; the kn of the MidHG. and ModHG. words may be explained as in Knäuel by a process of differentiation, i.e. the l of the next syllable produced the change of the first l into n, comp. ModDu. knoflook and MidLG. kloflôk. In the ordinary explanation of ‘cleft leek’ no regard is paid to the fact that the first part of the compound, which is identical with ModHG. Kloben, appears elsewhere in the Teut. group, AS. clufe, E. clove (of garlic), AS. clufþung, ‘crowfoot,’ clufwyrt, ‘buttercup.’
Knöchel, m., from the equiv. MidHG. knöchel, knüchel,. m., ‘knuckle’; dimin. of Knochen, MidHG. knoche; AS. cnucel, MidE. knokil, E. knuckle, and the equiv. Du. knokkel.
Knochen, m., ‘bone,’ from MidHG. knoche, m. ‘bone, knot of a branch, fruit capsule,’ The ModHG. word, almost unknown to Luther, rarely occurs in MidHG., and is entirely wanting in OHG. (Bein is the genuine UpG. and HG. word for Knochen, which again is orig. native to the MidG. and LG. dialects.) Knochen is, however, proved by the corresponding dimin. Knöchel to be a good OTeut. word; Goth. *knuqa, m., may be assumed. It is still uncertain whether it is connected with E. to knock, AS. cnucian, OIc. knoka, MidHG. knochen, ‘to cuff,’ or is related to OIc. knúe, ‘knuckle,’ which would favour its further kinship with Knie. From *knuqa, UpG. Knocke, ‘snag, knot,’ MidHG. knock, ‘nape,’ may be derived; their ck correctly represents the old q. Allied words with final g in the stem are, however, obscure, MidHG. knögerlin, ‘little knot, and MidHG. knügel, ‘knuckle.’
Knocke, f., ‘bundle, bunch,’ ModHG. only, from LG. knocke; proved to be a genuine OTeut. word by AS. *cnyčče, MidE. knucche, ‘bundle’ (e.g. ‘bundle of hay’), E. knitch, ‘faggot’; Goth. *knuka, or rather *knukja, m., are wanting.
Knödel, m., ‘dumpling,’ from MidHG. knödel, m., ‘seed-bud, dumpling’; dimin. of MidHG. knode, ‘knot,’ discussed under Knoten.
Knollen, m., ‘clod, bulb,’ from MidHG. knolle, m., ‘clod, lump’; OHG. *chnollo, m., is wanting. With the MidHG. meaning are connected AS. cnoll, m., E. knoll; Du. knol, ‘turnip.’
Knopf, m., ‘button, knob, pommel,’ from MidHG. and OHG. knopf, m., ‘ ​protuberance on plants, bud, pommel of a sword, knot, loop’; comp. AS. *cnopp, m., E. knop, ‘button, bud’; Du. knop, ‘bud, button, knot on plants.’ Goth. *knuppa- is wanting; under Knauf its graded form Goth. *knaupa- was assumed, which would represent *knauppa-, for the stem loses its final b, as is shown in MidHG. knübel, m., ‘knuckle,’ as well as AS. *cnobba, MidE. knobbe, E. knob; comp. also ModDu. knobbel, m., ‘knot, bulb, weal,’ and HG. Knubbe. Besides the words hitherto adduced, from which we may infer an old u root (comp. especially Knauf), there are some abnormal forms, OIc. knappr, ‘button, pommel,’ AS. cnœp, MidE. knap. Comp. Knospe, Knubbe, knüpfen, and Knüppel.
Knorpel, m., ‘gristle,’ from MidHG. knorpel-, knorbel-, bein knospel, ‘cartilage.’ It cannot be certainly decided whether the word is based on a Goth. knuzba- or *knaúrba-; the former is the more probable for grammatical reasons; ModDu. knobbel, ModLG. knusperknaken, ‘cartilaginous bone.’
Knorre, m., ‘knotty excrescence,’ from MidHG. knorre, m., with the equiv. variant knûre, m., ‘knot, protuberance’ (on trees, the body, &c.); knûre also signifies ‘rock, cliff, summit’; in the sense of ‘cuff, push,’ it is connected with MidHG. knüsen (from *knusjan), ‘to push, strike.’ For the other meanings too we must probably proceed from a Goth. word with s (z), as the dial. forms indicate, Suab. Knaus, ‘knob on a loaf,’ Swiss knus, ‘knot, excrescence.’ E. knar, ‘knot in wood,’ MidE. knarre, with the variant knorre, ‘knot, excrescence.’ — OHG. has only the adj. chniurig, ‘knotty, stout, firm,’ derived from *knûr. — Comp. Knospe and Knust.
Knortz, m., ‘snag,’ from MidHG. and OHG. knorz, ‘excrescence, knot’; Dan. knort, Swed. knórt. Allied to the preceding word?.
Knospe, f., ‘bud,’ from MidHG. knospe, m., ‘protuberance’; the modern meaning is one of the varied senses in earlier ModHG.; ‘protuberance’ is the prim. signification, hence it is natural to connect Knospe etymologically with Knopf; the latter is to be represented in Goth. by *knuppa-, the former by *knuspan- for *knufspan-; in that case -span would be a suffix; *knaspan- may, however, stand for *knusspan-, and be connected with the root knus appearing in Knorre.
Knoten, m., ‘knot,’ from MidHG. knote, knode, m., ‘natural knot (on the body and plants), artificial knot in a thread, noose’; OHG. chnodo, chnoto, m. (the OHG. and MidHG. doublets with t and d appear in Knote and Knödel even as late as ModHG.). Allied to AS. cnotta, m., E. knot, with differently related dentals; comp. OIc. ú-knytter, ‘dirty tricks, and MidHG. knotze, f., ‘protuberance’; E. to knit, AS. cnyttan, LG. (Voss) knütte, f., ‘knitting-needles,’ &c. OIc. knútr, m., ‘knot,’ knúta, f., ‘dice’; they are related to AS. knotta, like Goth. *knaupa- to *knuppa- (comp. Knauf and Knopf), and just as a form with a in the stem (AS. cnœpp) is connected with these words, so is OIc. knǫttr (Goth. *knattus), m., ‘ball,’ related to the cognates of Knoten. No indubitably allied term can be adduced from the other Aryan languages. Comp. also Knüttel.
Knöterich, m., ‘knot-grass’; found only in ModHG.
Knubbe, Knuppe, m., ‘knot in wood,’ ModHG. only, from LG. knubbe, the cognates of which see under Knopf. We may also mention MidHG. knübel, to which Knuppe is related, as klauben to Kluppe.
knuffen, vb., ‘to cull,’ wanting in the earlier periods; of obscure origin.
knüpfen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. knüpfen, OHG. knupfen, ‘to unite, tie, fasten together’ (Goth. *knuppjan is wanting); a nominal vb. from Knopf, which see; MidHG. knopf, ‘knot.’
Knüppel, m., ‘wooden bar, stick, cudgel,’ from LG.; in MidHG. knüpfel, m., ‘cudgel,’ was used. It is connected with MidHG. knopf, ‘knot on plants.’ See Knopf.
Knust, Knaust, m., ‘crusty piece of bread,’ prop. ‘protuberance,’ especially ‘corner of a loaf,’ from LG.; t is a suffix; for knûs- in the sense of ‘knot,’ see under Knorre.
Knute, f., ‘knout,’ ModHG. only; borrowed from Russ. knut; comp. Peitsche.
Knüttel, m., from the equiv. MidHG. knütel, knüttel, OHG. chnutil, m., ‘cudgel,’ prop. ‘stick or string with knots’; allied to Knoten.
Kobalt, m., ‘cobalt,’ ModHG. only; of uncertain origin, probably equiv. to Kobold.
Koben, m., ‘hovel,’ from MidHG. kobe, m., ‘stable, pigsty, cage’; the ModHG. variant Kofen is derived, as the f indicates, ​from LG. The word had orig. a more general sense, and was not restricted merely to a shed for animals and pigs. Even in ModHG. the earlier meaning ‘hut’ is found; comp. MidHG. kobel, ‘narrow house'; Ic. kofi, m., ‘hut, penthouse, partition.’ In AS. the corresponding cofa is specially used as a choice poetic term for ‘apartment, bed-chamber’; hence E. cove and pigeon-cove. Goth. *kuba, on which these words are based, is wanting. The word is genuinely Teut., as is proved by OHG. chubisi (Goth. *kubisi), ‘hut,’ which, from its form, is a derivative of a far earlier period; comp. also MidHG. kober, ‘basket, pocket,³ AS. cofl, ‘basket.’ See Kobold and Kübel.
Kobold, m., ‘goblin,’ from MidHG. kóbolt, with the variant kobólt, m., ‘fantastic familiar spirit, goblin.’ As the genuinely Teut. household deities, the Kobolde may be regarded as equiv. to the AS. cofgodu, cofgodas, ‘penates, lares’ (unfortunately AS. *cofold or *cofweald, ‘household deity,’ lit. ‘protector of the bedchamber,’ is not recorded); in Goth. probably *kubawalda-. The first component is OIc. kofe, AS. cofa, ‘apartment, chamber’ (see Koben). The MidHG. and ModHG. variants Oppold and Opolt may have been *ôtwalt, Goth. *audawald, ‘Lord of wealth’; the old ôt, ‘wealth,’ has been retained only in proper names like Ottofar, Otfried (Eduard, E. Edward). For the ending -old see under Herold and walten.
Koch, m., ‘cook,’ from the equiv. MidHG. koch, OHG. choh(hh); comp. Du. and OSax. kok, ‘cook’; adopted before the HG. permutation of consonants, at latest in the 6th cent. (contemporaneously with Küche), when the art of cookery and horticulture were introduced from Italy; the word is based on Lat. coquus, or more accurately on the form koko- (comp. Ital. cuoco). The word passed into E. in a different form — AS. côc, E. cook, where the ô, compared with HG. and Lat. ŏ, is due to a change of quantity in an open syllable (comp. Schule and Kuchen); on the other hand, the ŏ of the HG. word is probably derived from the vb. kochen. The earlier Teut. word for kochen is sieden; an OTeut. word for ‘cook’ is wanting. —
kochen, ‘to cook,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kochen, OHG. chohhôn, from Lat. coquere (more accurately *coquâre?). The HG. word could not remain a str. vb., because the vowel of the stem differed from the analogy of verbs of that class. In Rom. note Fr. cuire, Ital. cuocere. Comp. also Kuchen.
Köcher, m., ‘quiver,’ from MidHG. kocher, OHG. chohhar, m., ‘quiver,’ yet also generally ‘receptacle’ with the variants, MidHG. kochœre, OHG. chohhâri, MidHG. koger, keger, with an abnormal g apparently in harmony with the obscure OIc. kǫgurr ‘quiver’?), preserved only in kǫgursweinn, kǫgurbarn; OIc. kǫgurr, ‘quilted counterpane, coverlet,’ is an entirely different word, and is connected with a remarkable G. form Köcher, ‘cover.’ AS. cocur, MidE. coker, ‘quiver’; also in MidE. and E. quiver, from OFr. cuivre, which is again derived from the Teut. word (Teut. kokro-, whence MidLat. cucurum, ‘quiver’).
Köder, m., ‘bait.’ The word, on account of its very varied forms and senses, is difficult to explain etymologically, perhaps several words, originally different, have been combined with it; MidHG. köder, koder, këder, korder, körder, kërder, quërder, m., ‘lure, bait, patch of cloth or leather,’ OHG. quërdar also means ‘wick of a lamp’; in ModHG. it signifies, in the various dialects and at different periods, ‘double chin, slime, rag, leather strap, bait.’ With Köder, ‘double chin,’ we may perhaps compare E. cud, AS. cudu, cweodu (Goth. qiþus, ‘belly’?). With the meaning ‘bait,’ Goth. qairrus and HG. kirre may be most closely connected, because quërdar, as the oldest HG. form, points to a Goth. *qaírþra-; with this the Gr. compound δέλεαρ (δελ- for δερ- may be due to a process of differentiation, since a G. form kerdel occurs; and ð, according to Æol. βλῆρ, is perhaps an old guttural, root ger) may be certainly associated, and its variant δέλετρον, which more early corresponds with the G. word; the latter form is usually approved, since it combines the meanings of ‘bait’ and ‘torch’ (corresponding to OHG. quërdar, ‘wick’); in either case E. cud is abnormal. For the other meanings of the G. word no satisfactory etymologies can be found.
Koffer, m., ‘trunk,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. coffre.
Kohl, m.. ‘cabbage,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. kôl, m., with the variants OHG. chôli, MidHG. kœle, kœl, m. (comp. Alem. chœl, kêl), as well as OHG. chôlo, chŏlo, m., MidHG. kôle, kŏle, kŏl, and ​OHG. chôla, f. Adopted with the South Europ. culinary art and horticulture from Lat. caulis, m., ‘cabbage’; E. cole; MidE. caul, coul, AS. câwl, as well as OIc. kál, n., point to Lat. caulis, whence also Ital. cavolo, Fr. chou, ‘cabbage,’ and W. cawl. The ‘apparently vernacular’ Lat. côlis would have left no trace in the history of language if the MidHG. forms kŏle, kŏl, with a short accented syllable, were not derived from it. Most of the G. varieties of fruits and vegetables may have been introduced into Germany with the art of cookery in the 6th or 7th cent.; comp. Eppich, kochen, Pfeffer, Minze, Pflaume, and Kirsche.
Kohle, f., ‘coal, charcoal,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kole, f., mostly kole, kol, m., and kol, n., OHG. cholo, m., chol, n.; comp. AS. col, n., E. coal (E. colemouse, see under Kohlmeise), OIc. kol, n. plur., ‘coals.’ Akin to the derivs, OIc. kylna, f., ‘kiln,’ AS. cylne, E. kiln, as well as Swed. kylla, ‘to heat.’
Kohlmeise, f., ‘coalmouse,’ from MidHG. kŏlemeise, f., allied to Kohle, not to Kohl; lit. ‘titmouse with a black head’; AS. cŏlmâse, E. colemouse (a corruption of coalmouse, just as the Germans instinctively connect Kohlmeise with Kohl).
Kohlrabi, m., ‘turnip-cabbage,’ from Ital. cavoli rape (plur.); comp. Fr. chourave, Germanised Kohlrübe. For further references see Rübe.
Kolben, m., ‘club,’ from MidHG. kolbe, ‘mace, club, cudgel,’ OHG. cholbo, m.; Ic. kólfr, m., ‘javelin, arrow, bulb,’ with the derivative kylfi, n., kylfa, f., ‘club, cudgel.’ Goth. *kulba-n-, ‘stick with a thick knob at the end.’ From its meaning the word seems to be related to the cognates with the nasal form klumb, discussed under Klumpen; in that case the Aryan root may be gl-bh, and the word compared with Lat. globus, ‘round mass’ (also ‘clique,’ comp. E. club).
Kolk, m., ‘deep pool,’ LG.; Du. kolk, m., ‘eddy, abyss, hole.’ Comp. Sans. gárgara, m.; yet according to Lat. gurges, ‘eddy, whirlpool, abyss,’ Teut. r and not l ought to correspond to Ind. r.
Koller (1.), n. and m., ‘lady's ruff,’ from MidHG. koller, kollier, gollier, goller, m., ‘neckcloth,’ derived from Fr. collier (Lat. collarium).
Koller, (2.), m., ‘staggers,’ from MidHG. kolre, m., ‘staggers, frenzy, silent rage,’ OHG. cholero, m.; derived, like a number of medical terms, mediately from Gr. χολέρα, Lat. cholera; the ch has also in Rom. the value of a k; comp. Ital. collera, Fr. colère.
Kolter, m., ‘coverlet,’ from MidHG. kolter, kulter, m., f., and n., ‘quilted counterpane,’ from OFr. coultre (comp. Ital. coltra); for further references see Kissen.
kommen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. komen, OHG. chuëman, ‘to come,’ a common Teut. vb. The proper form of the initial k is qu, as is proved by ModHG. bequem, and hence OHG. quëman is the base; the w of an initial hw is frequently suppressed in HG. (comp. keck and kirr) before e and o (not before a). Goth. qiman, AS. cuman, E. to come, OSax. cuman, OIc. koma. The prim. Teut. vb. qeman, ‘to come,’ thus deduced has a remoter history; it is identical with the Ind. and Zend root gam, ‘to come,’ and allied to Lat. vĕnio for *gvĕmio, Gr. βαίνω for *βανjω (for *gvĕmiô); comp. bequem and Kunst. The assumed Aryan root is gem. The evolution of a v after the g is normal; comp. Goth. qinô with Gr. γυνή and Ind. gnã (*gánâ), ‘woman’; Goth. qiwa-, Lat. vivus (Gr. βίος, subst.), Ind. jîvá (see keck; comp. the similar evolution of a kv akin to Teut. hw from Aryan k under wer and welcher).
Komtur, m., ‘commander of an order of knighthood,’ from MidHG. kommentiur, komedûr, m., from OFr. commendeor (Lat. commendator), ‘commander, holder of an estate belonging to a priestly order.’
König, m., ‘king,’ from the equiv. MidHG. künic, künc (g), OHG. chunig, chuning; corresponding to OSax. cuning, AS. cyning (cyng,) E. king, Du. koning, OIc. konungr; a common Teut. term, wanting only in Goth. The high antiquity of the term is attested by its being borrowed at an early period by Finn. and Esth. as kuningas, ‘king,’ by OSlov. as kŭnęgŭ, kŭnęzĭ, ‘prince,’ Lith. as kùningas, ‘lord, pastor’ (Lett. kungs, ‘lord’). The word may be most probably explained by connecting it with Goth. kuni (gen. kunjis), OHG. chunni, MidHG. künne, AS. cynn, ‘family.’ Regarding -ing as a patronymic (AS. Wôdening, ‘son of Woden’), the meaning would be ‘a man of family,’ i.e, of a distinguished family, ‘ex nobilitate ortus’ (Tacitus, Germ. vii.). This simple and satisfactory explanation is opposed by the fact that in OTeut. kuni- alone means ‘king,’ which has been preserved especially in compounds such as AS. cyne-helm, ‘king's helmet,’ i.e. ‘crown,’ ​cynestôl, ‘king's seat,’ i.e. ‘throne,’ cynerice, equiv. to OHG chunirîhhi, ‘kingdom,’ &c.; the simple form is perhaps found only in OIc. poetry as konr (i-stem), ‘man of noble birth, relative of the king.’ In tracing the evolution in meaning, this fact can no more be rejected than the former; in this case too König would contain the essential idea of distinguished birth, but perhaps more accurately ‘the son of a man of distinguished birth’; comp. Fr. and E. prince, signifying both Prinz (male member of the royal family) and Fürst (a sovereign ruler, and also a title next above Count). The etymological connection between E. king and queen must be discarded, since the latter signified ‘woman’ generally; yet it is of some value in illustrating the development of meaning in the word König; AS. cwên is espec. ‘the noble lady.’
können, pret. pres., ‘to be able,’ from MidHG. kunnen, OHG. chunnan, pret. pres. (sing. kan, plur. kunnum, pret. konsta), prop. ‘to be capable intellectually, know, be acquainted with, understand,’ then also ‘to be able, be in a position (to).’ AS. cunnan (sing. can), pret. pres., ‘to be acquainted with, know, be able,’ E. can; Goth. kunnan (sing. kann, plur. kunnum), pret. pres., ‘to be acquainted with, know.’ In the earlier periods the verbal stem können had exclusively an intellectual sense in contrast to that of mögen, vermögen. Besides the stem kann- preserved in the vb. kunnan (comp. also Goth. kunnan, ‘to recognise,’ AS. cunnian, ‘to explore, attempt,’ see also Kunst, kund, and kennen), there exists in the OTeut. languages a verbal stem which may be represented in Goth. as *knê, *knô; AS. cnâwan, ‘to recognise, know,’ E. to know; OHG. irchnâan, bichnâan, ‘to recognise’; OHG. úrchnât, f., ‘perception’ (Goth. *knêþs, f., is wanting); the OHG. nominal vb. irchnuodilen, ‘to become perceptible,’ points to a Goth. *knôþla-, ‘knowledge.’ The three Teut. stems kann, knê, knô occur in the non-Teut. languages, Gr. and Lat. gnô in γιγνώσκω (ἔ-γνω-ν), ‘to recognize,’ γνῶσις, ‘knowledge,’ Lat. gno-sco, nô-tus, nô-tio; OSlov. znają, znati, ‘to recognise’; OIr. gnáth, ‘acquainted.’ Ind. forms a pres. from a root *jan, the pret. from a root jnâ, jânãmi, jajnáu (comp. part. jnâtá), ‘to know’; the Teut. root kann from gen-n appears in Lith. żinaú, ‘to know, recognise, perceive,’ pa-żintis, ‘knowledge,’ Zend â-zaiñti, f., ‘information,’ OIr. ad-géin, perf., ‘cognovit.’ This wide ramification of the closely allied Aryan root gen, gnô, ‘to recognise, know,’ is generally recognised, but its connection with the root gen, ‘to beget, bring forth,’ and the variants gnâ-, gnô-, discussed under Kind, König, and kennen, is problematical. Both seem to be united in AS. cennan, ‘to bring forth,’ and ‘to generate,’ Gr. γνωτός, ‘related by blood,’ and ‘discernible, known.’ The distinction, however, between the physical and intellectual senses of the word must have been made previous to the division of languages, since it exists in all the Aryan groups. Comp. kühn.
Kopf, m., ‘head,’ from MidHG. kopf, m., ‘drinking vessel, cup, pint measure, skull, head’; OHG. choph, chuph, m., ‘goblet’; AS. cuppa, E. cup; Scand. koppr, m., ‘crockery in the form of cups.’ This class is one of the most difficult to explain. Haupt, E. head, is certainly the real Teut. and earlier term for Kopf, and only in ModHG. has the latter finally supplanted the former. The numerous senses of the cognates further involves us in doubt, although analogies may be adduced in favour of the evolution of the notion ‘head’ from an earlier meaning ‘cup’; comp. OIc. kolla, f., ‘pot,’ kollr, m., ‘head’; ModHG. Hirnschale; Ital. coppa, ‘cup,’ and Prov. cobs, ‘skull’; Fr. tête, from Lat. testa; Goth. hwaírni, ‘skull,’ allied to AS. hwër, ‘kettle,’ Du. hersen-pan, ‘skull,’ MidE. herne-, brainpanne, ‘skull,’ allied to Pfanne, ‘pan’; Du. hersen-becken, ‘skull,’ allied to Becken, ‘basin.’ Thus in fact he ordinary assumption might be allowed to stand, according to which the entire class is based on MidLat. cuppa (Ital. coppa), ‘cup,’ Lat. cûpa, ‘cask.’ There are, however, cognate terms in Teut. which induce us to proceed, not from Lat. cûpa, ‘cask,’ but from a prim. Teut. word meaning ‘point, summit,’ AS. and MidE. copp, ‘summit, point,’ MidE. also ‘head,’ E. cop (for the evolution in meaning comp. Giebel, allied to Gr. κεφαλή, dial. Dach, ‘roof,’ for Kopf); OSax. coppod, ‘cristatus’ of serpents, is also worthy of note. The Teut. origin of the word Kopf in its ModHG. sense is also supported by the fact that OHG. chuppha, MidHG. kupfe, f., ‘head-dress,’ evidently connected with Kopf, is necessary to explain some Rom. cognates — Ital. cuffia, Fr. coiffe, and MidLat. cofea, are derived from OHG. chuppha. Besides, Lat. cûpa, cuppa, as a fem. is not well adapted in form to explain the Teut. masc., especially since ​koppa- (Goth. *kuppa- is certainly wanting) had already too wide a ramification in the OTeut. languages. But in any case, it is conceivable that the assumed genuine Teut. word was confused at an early period with a MidLat. and Rom. term, and thus incorporated a number of foreign meanings. Comp. Kuppe.
Koppe, see Kuppe.
Koppel, f. and n., ‘leash,’ from MidHG. koppel, kopel, kuppel, f. (m. and n.), ‘tie, connection,’ especially ‘leash,’ then collect. ‘pack of hounds,’ also ‘band’ generally; from Lat. copula, MidLat. also cupla (the latter also ‘couple of hounds in a leash’), whence also Fr. couple, E. couple, Du. koppel, ‘couple, multitude, troop.’
Koralle, f., ‘coral,’ from MidHG. koralle, m., formed from MidLat. corallus, Lat. corallium.
Korb, m., ‘basket,’ from the equiv. MidHG. korp (b), OHG. chorp, korb (gen. korbes), m.; comp. Du. korf, m., ‘dosser.’ The usual derivation from Lat. corbis is opposed by phonetic considerations, and also by the fact that nouns equiv. in meaning but with differently graded forms also occur; according to ModHG. Brett and its gradation Bord (which see), MidHG. krëbe, m., ‘basket,’ and hence further ModHG. Krippe may also be connected with Korb (comp. too ModIc. karfa, f., and körf, f., ‘basket’?). It is not impossible that, in addition to an inherited OTeut. word, the Lat. term was borrowed at a later period; OHG. churib, plur. churbî, points perhaps to Lat. corbis (E. corb); further ModHG. Reff (1) seems to be an old cognate of Lat. corbis.
Korde, Kordel, f., ‘cord, tow-line,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. corde, cordelle; comp. Du. koord, f., and the equiv. E. cord, from the same Rom. source, ultimately derived from Lat. and Gr. chorda.
Koriander, m., ‘coriander,’ ModHG. only, from Lat. coriandrum; in MidHG. koliander, kullander, kollinder, from MidLat. coliandrum. Comp. Du. koriander and E. coriander.
Korinthe, f., ‘currant,’ early ModHG. only, from Fr. corinthe.
Kork, m., ‘cork,’ early ModHG. only, through the medium of Du. (kork, kurk, n., ‘corkwood, cork, stopper’) and LG. commerce, from Span. corcho, ‘corkwood, stopper,’ whence also E. cork at an early period. The ultimate source is Lat. cortex, ‘bark.’
Korn, n., ‘grain, corn,’ from MidHG. korn, OHG. chorn (gen. chornes), n., ‘corn’ (in MidHG. also ‘grape-stone, corn-field, corn-stalk’). Goth. kaúrn, n., with the variant kaúrnô, n.; OIc. korn, AS. and E. corn, Du. koren; common Teut. stem korna-, meaning ‘single grain,’ then also ‘stone' and ‘fruit.’ For the meaning ‘stone’ comp. OHG. bęrikorn, MidHG. wîn-, trûben-korn, ‘stone of a berry'; OHG. korn- and kërnapful (AS. cornœppel), ‘malum punicum, calville,’ are interchangeable; for the derivative AS. cyrnel, E. kernel, see under Kern. Thus it is probable that there exists a close connection between Kern and Korn, their phonetic relation being similar to that between Brett and Bord; for further examples of gradation in nouns, see under Korb. Another graded form of Korn, from pre-Teut. gṛnó-m, is furnished by Lat. grânum, ‘grain, core’; see Hürde, equiv. to Lat. crates; voll, equiv. to Lat. plênus, OIr. lán. Gṛnó is exactly the same as OSlov. zrŭno, n., ‘grain.’
Kornelle, f., ‘cornel-cherry,’ even in OHG. cornul, cornul-baum, from MidLat. cornolium (Fr. cornouille, Ital. corniolo); a derivative of Lat. cornus, f., ‘cornel-cherry’; comp. AS. corntreô, E. cornelian-tree.
Körper, m., ‘body, substance, carcass,’ in the MidHG. period (13th cent.) korper, körpel, körper, m.; borrowed from Lat. corpus, or more accurately from the stem corpor-, a prim. cognate of which exists in OTeut. from the same source (Aryan kṛp), OHG. hrëf, AS. hrif, ‘womb.’ Leich (see Leichnam) is the OTeut. word for ModHG. Leib and Körper. “The sacrament of the Church and the elevation of the Host, and perhaps medical art, led to the naturalisation of the Lat. word.”
koscher, kauscher, adj., ‘pure,’ ModHG. only, from Jew. Chald. kâschêr, ‘pure, according to prescription.’
kosen, vb., ‘to chat, caress,’ from MidHG. kôsen, OHG. chôsôn, ‘to converse, talk.’ The meaning of the vb. is opposed to any connection with OHG. chôsa, ‘lawsuit,’ and Lat. causa, causari, for it nowhere shows an indication of a legal origin; ModFr. causer, ‘to chat,’ is also derived from G., since in Lat. causa, Fr. chose originated. As a native word kosen (Goth. *kausôn) is of uncertain origin; it is certainly connected, however, with AS. ceást, MidE. cheeste, ‘argument, dispute,’ Du. keuzelen, ‘to caress.’
Kossat, see Kot (1).
​ Kost (1.), f., ‘cost,’ from MidHG. koste kost, f. and m., ‘value, price, expense,’ even in OHG. kosta, f.; borrowed in the OHG. period from MidLat. costus, m., costa, f. (comp. Ital. costo, m., Fr. coût, m., Span. costa, f.; ultimate source Lat. constare, ‘to come to, cost’). From Rom. are derived MidE. costen, E. to cost, whence Scand. kosta, ‘to cost.’
Kost (2.), f. (in the 16th cent. also m.), ‘board,’ from MidHG. koste, kost, f., ‘living, food, victuals’; comp. Scand. kostr, m., ‘victuals, provisions.’ In Scand. as in the G. word, the meanings of (1) and (2) overlap; at all events (2) is a later development of (1). We must certainly assume that the Scand. loan-word kostr, ‘expense, victuals,’ was confused with an OTeut. word which would be most closely connected with Goth. kustus, m., ‘trial, proof,’ and gakusts, ‘test’; OIc. kostr, m., ‘choice, condition, circumstances.’ With regard to these nouns see kiesen.
kosten (1.), vb., ‘to cost,’ from MidHG. kosten, ‘to come to, cost’; from MidLat. and Rom. costare (Lat. constare); Fr. coûter; see Kost (1) and (2); E. to cost.
kosten (2.), vb., ‘to taste,’ from MidHG. ‘to scrutinise, test by tasting’; OHG. and OSax. costôn, AS. costian (wanting in E.); a common Teut. vb. meaning ‘to put to the test, scrutinise, try.’ Kosten, like the Teut. words mentioned under Kost (2), is connected with kiesen, and is identical in form with Lat. gustâre, ‘to taste.’ Teut. kus, pre-Teut. gus, is the root. Comp. kiesen.
kostspielig, adj., ‘expensive,’ first used towards the end of the 18th cent.; it contains, however, an old word which has elsewhere disappeared, and even in this compound has been corrupted; MidHG. spildec, ‘extravagant’; OHG. spilden, ‘to squander, dissipate’ (from OHG. gaspilden, Fr. gaspiller is derived). Hence *kostspildig is probably ‘squandering money’; spildig, which was etymologically obscure, was corrupted into -spielig.
Kot (1.), Kote, f., ‘cot’; prop. a LG. word; LG. kote, kot, Du. kot, ‘hut’; corresponding to AS. cot, n., and cote, f., ‘hut’; from the former E. cot is derived (E. cottage is the same word with a Rom. suffix; comp. MidLat. cotagium, OFr. cotage), from the latter came cote in dove-cote and sheep-cote, comp. Scand. kot, n., ‘small farm.’ Goth. *kut, n., or *kutô, f., is wanting. The widely ramified class is genuinely Teut., and passed into Slov. (OSlov. kotĭcĭ, ‘cella’) and Kelt. (Gael. cot). Rom. words have also been derived from it — ModFr. cotte, cotillon, Ital. cotta, all of which denote some article of dress, though this sense does not belong to the Teut. word (E. coat, at all events, is probably derived from Rom.). The Teut. word means only ‘apartment, hut, room of a house’; gudo- is perhaps the pre-historic form. — Kotsasse, also by assimilation Kossasse, Kossat, Kotse, ‘person settled in a small farm’; also spelt Kötter.
Kot (2.) m., ‘dirt, mire, dung,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kôt, quât, kât, n., OHG. quât; Goth. *qêda-, ‘dirt,’ is wanting. Prop. neut. adj.; MidG. quât, ModDu. kwaad, ‘wicked, ugly, rotten’ (MidE. cwêd, ‘bad’). Unflat and Unrat are in the same way veiled terms for stercus. In its pre-Teut. form guêtho, Kot might be related by gradation to Ind. gûtha, Zend gûtha, ‘dirt, excrementa,’ so that the Teut. subst. may have been formed from the adj. even in prehistoric times; the Sans. and Zend word seems, however, to be connected with the Ind. root gu, ‘caccare’ (OSlov. govĭno, n., ‘dirt’).
Kote, Köte, f., ‘pastern joint,’ ModHG. only, from LG. kote; comp. ModDu. koot, Fris. kate, f., ‘knuckle-bone.’ No other cognates are found.
Köter, m., ‘cur,’ prop. ‘farmer's dog,’ allied. to LG. kote, ‘small farm.’ See Kot (1).
Kotze, f., ‘coarse cloth,’ from MidHG. kotze, m., ‘coarse, shaggy woollen stuff, cover or garment made of it,’ OHG. chozzo, m., chozza, f.; comp. OSax. cot (tt) ‘woollen cloak, coat’; a specifically G. word, wanting in Goth., Scand., and E. The Rom. words mentioned under Kot (1) — Fr. cotte, ‘petticoat,’ Ital. cotta — seem to have been borrowed from G., since in OHG. other words belong to the same class, OHG. umbîchuzzi, ‘upper garment,’ umbichuzzen, vb., ‘amicire.’ On the assumption that Kotze is a genuine Teut. word, some have connected it with Gr. βεῦδος (from the root gud), ‘woman's dress.’ MidE. cote, E. coat are certainly of Rom. origin, OFr. cote, MidLat. cotta. Comp. Kutte.
Kötze, f., ‘basket,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kœtze, of obscure origin; comp. Kieze.
​ kotzen, vb., ‘to vomit,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; of uncertain derivation.
Krabbe, f., ‘crab,’ borrowed, like most words with medial bb, from LG.; comp. MidLG. krabbe, Du. krab, AS. crabba, E. crab, Scand. krabbi; the strictly HG., i.e. permutated, form Krappe, appears in the 16th cent., yet the word was native only to the maritime Teutons. Krebs is from a cognate stem, but Gr. κάραβος, Lat. carabus, ‘sea-crab,’ are neither prim. allied, nor are they the forms from which the Teut. words were borrowed. Fr. crabe, ‘crabfish,’ is most closely connected with the Teut. and with the Lat. word.
krabbeln, vb., ‘to crawl,’ with LG. permutation, in contrast to MidHG. krappeln, of which the variant krabelen occurs, whence also earlier ModHG. krabeln. The form with a double labial may be due to its being popularly connected with Krabbe (Krappe), for in Scand. also a simple form is found without this double labial, Scand. krafla, ‘to scratch with the nails,’ and krafsa, ‘to shuffle with the feet.’ E. grabble, grapple, grab are connected with LG. and Du. grabbeln.
krachen, vb., ‘to crack, crash, break,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krachen, OHG. chrahhôn; comp. Du. kraken, ‘to crack (nuts, &c.), burst, crack, crackle,’ AS. cracian, E. to crack; Goth. *krakôn is wanting. AS. cearcian, ‘to crack’ (Goth. *karkôn), is worthy of note; comp. respecting the apparent transposition of the r, Brett and Bord, fragen and forschen. Teut. root krk from grg; comp. Sans. gṛg, garj, ‘to rustle, crackle.’ —
Krach, m., from the equiv. MidHG. krach, OHG. chrah, ‘crack, crash.’
krächzen, vb., ‘to croak,’ ModHG. only, a deriv. of krachen; in MidHG. krochzen, OHG. chrocchezan, ‘to croak,’ which is related by gradation to the stem of krachen. From AS. cracian, cracettan was formed, like ModHG. krächzen, from krachen.
Kracke, f., ‘sorry nag,’ ModHG. only, of obscure origin. Perhaps akin to Du. kraak, Fr. caraque, ‘clumsily built merchant ship’?.
Kraft, f., ‘strength,’ from MidHG. kraft, OHG. chraft, f., ‘strength, power, force of an army, multitude, abundance’; comp. OSax. craft, m. and f., Du. kracht; AS. crœft, m., with the HG. meanings, also ‘mental capacity, art, science,’ hence E. craft (the corresponding crafty shows prominently the last specialisation of meaning within the mental sphere); OIc. kraptr, m., ‘strength,’ ModIc. krœfr, ‘strong,’ exhibits the stem without the dental suffix; yet OIc. krefja, ‘to beg, demand, challenge,’ as well as AS. crafian, E. to crave, seems, on account of its meaning, not to be connected with the subst. No certain cognates are found in the non-Teut. languages.
kraft, prep. ‘in virtue of,’ prop. dat. sing. of the preceding word, originally combined with the preps. aus or in. MidHG. kraft, with the gen. of a noun, is often simply a pleonasm for the noun itself — hôher wunne kraft for hôhiu wunne, ‘great bliss’; ûȥ zornes kraft, ‘in anger.’
Kragen, m., ‘collar,’ from MidHG. krage, m., ‘neck’ (of men and animals), also ‘nape,’ then further, ‘article worn round the neck, collar’; wanting in OHG., OSax., AS., and OIc. MidE. crawe, E. craw, ‘crop’ (of birds), point to AS. *craga; E. variant crag, ‘neck, nape,’ dial. also ‘crop’; ModIc. kragi, m., ‘collar,’ is of G. origin. Goth. kraga, m., ‘neck, throat,’ is wanting. Further references are uncertain; Gr. βρόγχος, ‘windpipe,’ may be allied, since its initial β may represent g (grogho-, grongho-); comp. also βρόχθος, ‘gullet, throat.’ MidHG. krage is also used personally as an abusive term, ‘fool’; hence ModHG. Geizkragen, ‘niggard.’
Krähe, f., ‘crow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krœ̂e (rare), f. (usually krâ and krâwe, f.), OHG. chrâia, chrâwa, and chrâ, f.; comp. Du. kraai, OSax. krâia, f., AS. crâwe, f., E. crow; a West Teut. word allied to krähen, which was orig. a str. vb. The Scand. term kráka, f., ‘crow,’ cannot be immediately connected with the cognates adduced; it is only very remotely allied.
krähen, vb., ‘to crow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krœ̂n, krœ̂jen (pret. krâte), OHG. chrâen, vb.; corresponding to AS. crâwan (pret. creów), E. to crow, and the equiv. Du. kraaijen; a specifically West Teut. vb., in Goth. hrûkjan. That it was not orig. used of the cock alone is attested by the etymology of Krähe, and also by the compounds, OHG. hanachrât, OSax. hanocrâd, AS. hancrêd, ‘cock-crow, crowing.’ The Teut. stem. krê-, krêw may be connected with OSlov. grąja, grajati, ‘to croak,’ and Lith. gróju, gróti, ‘to croak.’
Krahn, m., ‘crane’ (machine), ModHG. only, formed from LG. and Du.; prop. identical with Kranich, of which it is a shorter form; see Kranich. Gr. γέρανος ​also means ‘crane’; comp. too Lat. aries, HG. Bock, as well as Lat. grus, as terms for machines.
Krakeel, m., ‘uproar,’ ModHG. only; comp. Du. krakeel; of obscure origin.
Kralle, f., ‘claw, talon, clutch,’ ModHG. only; wanting in the earlier periods. Allied to Gr. γράω, ‘to gnaw,’ Sans. root gras, ‘to devour’?. MidHG. krellen, ‘to scratch’ (Goth. *krazljan?), is more closely connected.
Kram, m., ‘retail trade,’ from MidHG. krâm, m., prop. ‘stretched cloth, marquee,’ espec. ‘covering of a stall,’ then the ‘stall’ itself (also called krâme, f.), ‘trade wares’; corresponding to Du. kraam, f., ‘retail shop, wares,’ then, strangely enough, ‘child-bed,’ which must have originated in the meaning ‘stretched cloth,’ as the covering for the bed. A specifically G. word introduced into the North by commerce (Ic. kram, n., ‘wares,’ Lith. krómas). ‘Tent-cloth’ may have been the prim. meaning of Goth. *krêma-.
Krammetsvogel, m., ‘fieldfare,’ from MidHG. kramat(s)vogel, krambitvogel, kranewitvogel, m., ‘fieldfare,’ prop. ‘juniper bird.’ The juniper in MidHG. is kranewite, kranwit (kramwit, kramat), OHG. chranawitu (prop. ‘crane-wood’), from krana-, ‘crane,’ mentioned under Krahn and Kranich, and OHG. witu, ‘wood’ (note the similarity in the E. word); comp. E. craneberry, cranberry, from crane.
Krampe, f., ‘staple, cramp,’ from LG., since we should have expected pf in HG.; comp. Du. kram for kramp, ‘hook, clamp,’ E. cramp, also cramp-irons; OHG. chrampf, ‘hook.’ From the Teut. cognates, which are based on the adj. *krampa-, discussed under Krampf, Fr. crampon, ‘cramp,’ is derived; see the next word.
Krämpe, f., ‘brim of a hat,’ ModHG. only, from LG. krempe, allied to the OHG. adj. chrampf, ‘curved’ (OIc. krappr, ‘close, narrow’); OHG. chrampf, quoted under Krampe, combines the meanings ‘hook’ and ‘border, brim.’
Krämpel, f., ‘carling-comb,’ borrowed from LG., but it occurs even in the MidHG. period; dimin. of Krampe, ‘hook.’
Krampf, m., ‘cramp, spasm, convulsion,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. krampf (OHG. also chrampfo); comp. OSax. cramp, Du. kramp, f., E. cramp; the common West Teut. term for ‘cramp’; orig. an adjectival subst. from OHG. chrampf, ‘curved,’ OIc. krappr (normal for *krampr), ‘narrow, pressed close.’ The Teut. stem krampa- has numerous cognates in G.; besides the LG. loan-words krampe, krämpe, krämpel, we may mention OHG. chrampf, ‘hook, border,’ chrimpfan, MidHG. krimpfen, ‘to contract in a crooked or spasmodic fashion,’ MidHG. krimpf, adj., ‘crooked’ masc. subst. ‘cramp’; ModHG. krumm is also allied, as is indicated by its OHG. and MidHG. variant krumpf, ‘bent, twisted.’ Comp. krumm, and OHG. chrimpfan, MidHG. krimpfen, ‘to be convulsed,’ ModDu. krimpen, ‘to draw in, shrivel,’ MidE. crimpil, ‘wrinkle,’ crumbe, ‘hook,’ crumpe, ‘crump,’ E. to crimple, ‘to contract,’ &c.; OIc. krappr, ‘narrow,’ and its nominal vb. kreppa, ‘to compress.’ Comp. Krüppel and Krapfen.
Kranich, m., from the equiv. MidHG. kranech (kręnich), m., OHG. chranuh, chranih (hh), m., ‘crane’ (bird); also without the guttural suffix, MidHG. krane, which agrees with the MidG., LG., and E. forms (Du. kraan, f., ‘crane’ — bird, and then machine; AS. cran and cornuc, E. crane in both senses). In the Scand. languages, OIc. trane, m., ‘crane,’ seems to be connected with these. The suffix ch in ModHG. is Goth. k in ahaks, ‘pigeon,’ AS. hafoc, ‘Habich-t’ (hawk). The corresponding words for ‘crane’ in the other West Aryan languages (prim. form ger-w) are the most closely allied — Gr. γέρανος, Kelt. and W. garan; also OSlov. žeravĭ, Lith. gérwê, f., Lat. grus (gen. gru-is), corresponds to OHG. chreia, ‘crane.’ The derivation of Gr. γέρανος, from γεράσκω, root ger, ‘to grow old,’ as if the crane were remarkable for its great age, is open to objection. Further, the crane is one of the few names of birds (see Drossel) in which several Aryan stems coincide. Comp. also Krahn and Krammetsvogel.
krank, adj., ‘sick, ill,’ from MidHG. kranc (k), adj., ‘narrow, slender, slight, powerless, weak, null’ (in OHG. not yet found). The earliest references are in the first half of the 12th cent., therefore krank is most frequently regarded as a LG. loan-word; but the late appearance of the word cannot be accepted as a proof of its having been borrowed, since this is not supported by its form, which may be derived from an OTeut. source; comp. OHG. chrancholôn, ‘to grow weak, stumble’; AS. cranc, ‘feeble, infirm,’ also occurs rarely. For ​the further history of the word we must at all events proceed from the latter meaning (siech is the OTeut. adj. for ‘sick’); Scand. krankr, ‘sick,’ is borrowed from G. (*krakkr must have been the native form); a genuine Scand. krangr, ‘feeble,’ also occurs. The common West Teut. adj. kranka- is connected with AS. cringan, lit. ‘to writhe like one mortally wounded, salt in fight, fall with a crash’ (thus closely allied in meaning to AS. cranc, ‘infirm, tottering’). With the same root kring, krink, are connected ModHG. Kring, ‘circular pad for the head,’ E. crank, to crankle, crinkle. —
kränken, ‘to make ill,’ from MidHG. krenken, ‘to torment, grieve,’ prop. ‘to lessen, humiliate.’
Kranz, m., ‘wreath,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and late OHG. kranz, m.; a specifically HG. word, which in this form has passed within historic times into other Teut. languages (Ic. krans, Du. krans). Perhaps allied to Sans. granth, ‘to tie (a knot), bind,’ granthi-s, m., ‘knot,’ or even with Lith. grandis, m., ‘bracelet, tyre of a wheel’ (Lett. grůdi, ‘wood for framing,’ from the base *grandai).
Kräppel, Kräpfel, dimin. of Krapfen.
Krapfen (1.), Krappe, m., from the equiv. MidHG. krâpfe (MidG. krâpe), m., ‘a kind of pastry, fritter'; OHG. chrâpfo, m., orig. identical with the following word; so called from the hooked form of the pastry.
Krapfen (2.), m., ‘cramp, hook, dung-fork,’ from MidHG. krâpfe, krâpe, m., ‘hook, cramp,’ OHG. chrâpfo, ‘hook,’ also ‘claw, talon’; the Goth. form. *knêppa is wanting, nor is the word found in the other Teut. languages; before the HG. permutation of consonants it passed in the form grappo, grapo into Rom. (Ital. grappa, ‘cramp, talon,’ Fr. grappin, ‘grapnel’). Comp. further E. craple, ‘claw, talon.’ It is doubtful whether OHG. chrâcho (Goth. krêkka), m., ‘hooked instrument,’ and Scand. kraki, m., ‘stake,’ are allied. The stem of Krapfen appears in a nasal form in OHG. chrampf, ‘curved,’ and OHG. chrampfa, chrampho, m., ‘iron hook’ (comp. Fr. crampon, ‘cramp, borrowed from OHG.). Consequently Krapfen is connected with Krampf.
Krätze (1.), f., ‘dosser,’ from MidHG. kręzze, also kratte, m., ‘basket’; OHG. chręzzo and chratto, m., ‘basket.’ Perhaps the word is allied, on account of the MidHG. variant krenze, with Kranz. On the other hand, OHG. chratto and MidHG. kratte suggest AS. cradol, E. cradle, and also Du. krat, AS. crœt, E. cart (orig. ‘cart-basket’?), E. crate. With Gr. κάρταλλος, ‘basket,’ these cognates cannot be connected.
Krätze (2.), f., ‘itch,’ from MidHG. kretz, kratz, allied to kratzen.
kratzen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. kratzen, kretzen, OHG. chrazzôn, ‘to scratch’ (allied to Scand. krota, ‘to dig in,’ Goth. gakrutôn, ‘to grind’); previous to the HG. permutation of consonants *kratton, whence Ital. grattare, Fr. gratter, ‘to scratch.’ Comp. kritzeln.
krauen, vb., ‘to tickle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krouwen, OHG. chrouwôn, krouwen; Goth. *kraujôn, or rather *kraggwôn, and other correspondences are wanting. With this vb. is connected OHG. chrouwil, MidHG. kröuwel, m., ‘three-pronged fork, talon, claw,’ to which Swiss and ModHG. Kräuel, ‘fork with hooked prongs’; comp. Du. kraauwel, m., ‘pitchfork, fork, claw, finger-nail,’ allied to kraauwen, ‘to scratch.’ Connected with Krume.
kraus, adj., ‘frizzled,’ from MidHG. krûs, ‘curled, frizzled’; unknown to all the OTeut. languages; retained in MidDu. kruis, ModDu. kroes, ‘dishevelled, entangled, frizzled, stubborn’; MidE. crûs, ‘frizzled, angry.’ The genuine Teut. origin and great antiquity of kraus are certified by the equiv. parallel cognates, MidHG. krol (ll), ‘curly, lock of hair,’ Du. krul, ‘lock,’ krullig, ‘frizzled, curly,’ MidE. crul, ‘curly.’ Comp. Krolle.
Krause, f., ‘pitcher with a lid,’ from MidHG. krûse, f., ‘pitcher, earthenware drinking vessel’; OHG. *chrûsa, f.; MidDu. kruise, AS. *crûse, MidE. crûse, E. cruse; Scand. krús, ‘pitcher with a lid.’ It is not immediately connected with HG. Krug. That the word is of foreign origin seems certain, yet the ultimate source cannot be Gr. κρωσσός, ‘pitcher.’ See the following word.
Kräusel, m., ‘top,’ with the more frequent variant Kreisel, a corrupt form which arose from connecting Kräusel with the circular (kreisförmig) movement of a top; MidHG. *kriusel, MidG. krûsel, m., ‘top,’ a dimin. of Krause, hence lit. ‘small pitcher.’ Comp. the UpG. term Topf for ‘top.’
Kraut, n., ‘herb, vegetable, weed,’ from ​MidHG. krût, n., ‘small foliated plant, herb, vegetable,’ espec. ‘cabbage,’ OHG. krût, OSax. crûd; Du. kruid, n., ‘herb, spice, gunpowder’ (the last meaning is also found in MidHG. from the 14th cent.); MidE. crûdewain (Du. kruidwagen), ‘ammunition waggon,’ seems to have been borrowed. Goth. *krûþ (gen. *krûdis), n., might be taken for krû-da-, with the suffix da- from tó (Aryan grû-tó-). Gr. γρύτη, ‘lumber, trash,’ does not agree in meaning. Perhaps the word should be connected rather with the Gr. root βρυ- for gru; comp. βρύω, ‘to swell,’ ἔμβρυον, ‘embryo,’ βρύον, ‘moss.’ From G. is derived Fr. choucroute, m., ‘pickled cabbage.’
Krebs, m., ‘crayfish,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krëbeȥe, krëbeȥ, OHG. chrëbiȥ, chrëbaȥo, m.; comp. Du. kreeft, m., ‘crayfish’; allied to LG. Krabbe. The G. word passed at an early period into Rom. (comp. Fr. écrevisse, ‘cray fish,’ and crevette, ‘shrimp’). It is not connected with Gr. κάραβος, but rather with OHG. chrâpfo, ‘hook’; Krebs, lit. ‘hooked or claw fish’?. See Krapfen (2).
Kreide, f., ‘chalk,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krîde, late OHG. krîda, f.; ultimate source Lat. crêta, f., ‘Cretan earth’ The change from Lat. ê to HG. î cannot be explained by the ModGr. pronunciation of Crete (comp. MidHG. Krîde, Scand. Krít, ‘Crete’), since there are other instances in which Lat. ê appears in HG. loan-words,, as î; comp. Feier, and espec. Seide. Besides, the word crêta, ‘Cretan earth,’ is unknown to. Gr. The more precise history of the adoption of HG. krîda is obscure (the corresponding words in Rom. are Ital. creta and Fr. craie).
Kreis, m., ‘circle, orbit, sphere,’ from MidHG. kreiȥ, m., ‘circumference, circuit, division of a country district’; OHG. chreiȥ, pointing to Goth. *kraits, and D, krijt to. Goth. *kreits, Comp. MidHG. krîȥen (MidG.), ‘to make a circle.’ The word cannot be traced beyond G.; it is not allied to Kranz and Kring. Comp. kritzeln.
kreischen, vb., ‘to shriek,’ from MidHG. krîschen, ‘to screech, shriek’; OHG. *chrîskan and Goth. *kreiskan are wanting. MidHG. krîȥen, ‘to shriek’ (Goth. *kreitan), points to the fact that a dental (Goth. t) has been lost before the suffix sk of kreischen, just as a guttural has been dropped in forschen, OHG. forskôn. Comp. Du. krijschen, ‘to shriek, yell’ Comp. kreisen.
Kreisel, see Kräusel.
kreisen, kreißen, vb., ‘to be in labour,’ from MidHG. krîȥen, ‘to screech, shriek, groan’; comp. Du. krijten, ‘to shriek, shout.’ For further cognates see kreischen; akin also to MidHG. krîsten, earlier ModHG. kreisten, ‘to groan.’
Kreppel, see Kräppel.
Kresse (1.), f., ‘cress, from the equiv. MidHG. kręsse, OHG. chręsso, m., chressa, f.; corresponding to Du. kers, kors, f., AS. cœrse, f., E. cress. This word, which is probably peculiar to West Teut., found its way to the North—Dan. karse, Swed. krasse, Lett. kresse; it was also adopted by the Rom. languages — Fr. cresson, Ital. crescione. The assumption that the Rom. words contain the orig. form is opposed by the early appearance of the term in the old West Teut. languages. It is true that no plausible explanation of OHG. chręsso (Goth. *krasja?) has been put forward; OHG. chrësan, MidHG. krësen, krîsen, ‘to crawl,’ seems unrelated.
Kresse (2.), f., ‘gudgeon,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kresse, OHG. chresso, m. Different from Kresse (1). The fish is thus named only in G., and hence the term is not diffused in West Teut. like the preceding word.
Kretschem, Kretscham, m., from the equiv. MidHG. kretschem, kretscheme, m., ‘village tavern,’ a Slav. loan-word; Bohem. krčma, Wend. korčma, Pol. karczma, ‘tavern.’
Kreuz, n., ‘cross,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kriuz, kriuze, n., OHG. chrûzi, n.; from Lat. crŭci- (dat. cruci, acc. crucem), with change of vowel quantity in the stem as in Leier, Lilie, and Litze, and also of gender (comp. Abt, Orden, and Pech). The change of medial c in the Lat. word to HG. tz, though in another group of (older) loan-words Lat. c, even before open vowels, appears as k in HG. and Teut., is due to the fact that words like Keller and Kaiser were introduced into Germany at a far earlier period than Kreuz, which was adopted with Christianity in the 8th and 9th cents. The Goths used Teut. Galgen (Goth. galga), the English of the earliest period, rood (comp. Rute). The loanword is now found in all the Mod. Teut. languages — Ic. kross, Swed. and Dan. kors, Du. kruis, E. cross.
Kreuzer, m., ‘kreutzer’ (about $\scriptstyle {\frac {1}{3}}$d.), from MidHG. kriuzer, kriuzœre, m., a small coin, orig. marked with a cross (MidHG. kriuze), ‘kreutzer.’
​ kribbeln, vb., ‘to crawl, tickle,’ ModHG. only, kribeln (MidG.), ‘to tickle’; a recent formation; comp. ModDu. kribeln, ‘to itch, prick,’ kribbelen, ‘to grumble, wrangle.’
Kribskrabs, Kribbelkrabbel, m., ModHG., an onomatopoetic term for ‘utter confusion’; comp. ModDu. kribbelen, ‘to scrawl’?.
Krieche, f., ‘early sloe,’ from the equiv. MidHG., f., ‘early sloe-tree,’ OHG. chriehboum; comp. Du. kriek, f., ‘wild cherry.’ Phonetically it might be derived from OHG. Chriah, MidHG. Kriech, ‘a Greek,’ if *grœca could be found in MidLat. denoting the tree and the fruit. The word must hare been introduced from Italy, on account of the Lat. term (comp. Kirsche), for it is inconceivable that the Germans, of their own accord, and without foreign precedent, should lave termed the fruit ‘Greek’ because it was imported, as we assume for the moment, from Greece. At all events, the name has not yet been explained (comp. further the Fr. loan-word crèque).
kriechen, vb., ‘to crawl,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kriechen, OHG. chriohhan, str. vb.; corresponding to OSax. kriupan, Du. kruipen, AS. creópan, E. to creep, OIc. krjúpa. The relation of the HG. form with ch from k to the remaining Teut. languages with p has well-authenticated analogies; see Rufe (1), werfen, and Strunk. The guttural appears again in MidE. crûchen, E. to crouch. Kraufen, ‘to crawl,’ is the MidHG. (MidG.) krûfen.
Kriechente, see Kriekente.
Krieg, m., ‘war,’ from MidHG. kriec(g), m., ‘exertion, endeavour to obtain something,’ then also ‘opposition, resistance, argument, discord, combat.’ The predominant meaning in ModHG. is the latest and ‘counter-effort' the earliest; comp. MidHG. einkriege, adj., ‘self-willed.’ For a similar evolution of meaning comp. OHG. flîȥ, ‘exertion, zeal, quarrel'; see Fleiß. The word is almost entirely unknown to OHG.; it occurs once as chrêg, ‘pertinacia,’ with which widarkrêgi, ‘controversia', widarkriegelîn, ‘obstinatus’ (with obscure ê, ia, ie), are connected. This word, obscure in origin, is shared only by Du. (krijg) with G.; in all the other Teut. languages it is wanting, Dan. and Swed. krig being borrowed from G. Comp. the following word.
kriegen, vb., ‘to get,’ from MidHG. kriegen (in MidG. krîgen is str., so too the corresponding vb. in LG. and Du.), ‘to exert oneself, strive, aim at, oppose, struggle,’ then also ‘to defend, maintain an opinion,’ MidG. also ‘to obtain, receive’; the latter meaning is LG. and Du. (krijgen, ‘to obtain, receive’). With regard to the numerous meanings comp. OHG. winnan, ‘to exert oneself, struggle,’ giwinnan, ‘to win.’ Hence the various senses of the vb. are the outcome of a prim. meaning ‘to make an effort against,’ just as in the case of the noun Krieg, on which it is based.
Kriekente, f., ‘teal,’ a LG. form for HG. Kriech-Ente; wanting in MidHG. and OHG.; it is based on Lat. anas crecca, hence also Swed. kräcka. Fr. sarcelle, ‘teal,’ like Ital. cerceta, is traced to Lat. anas querquedula; thus it has no etymological connection with Kriechente; the same may be said of E. crake, corncrake.
Kring, m., ‘circular pad for the head,’ from MidHG. krinc(g), m., ‘circle, ring, district,’ with the MidG. variant kranc(g); LG. has a variant krink with final k, since in the whole of the corresponding class k and g at the end of the stem interchange (comp. frank). Scand. kring, kringum, adv., ‘round about,’ kringja, ‘to encircle,’ kringlóttr, adj., ‘round.’ — E. crank, MidE. cranke; E. to crankle, ‘to run in a winding course,’ crinkle, ‘wrinkle, bend.’ ModHG. Ring and its cognates differ etymologically from Kring. In the allied Aryan languages some connect Lith. gręziù, grężti, ‘to twist, turn,’ with the Aryan root grengh, authenticated by Kring. Gr. βρόχος, ‘noose, cord,’ is scarcely akin.
Kringel, Krengel, m., ‘cracknel,’ dimin. of Kring, or rather Krang; used even in MidHG. as a term in pastry.
Krippe, f., ‘crib,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krippe, OHG. chrippa, f., for chrippja (Goth. *kribjô; for HG. pp. from Goth. bj, comp. further Rippe, Suppe, and üppig); corresponding to OSax. kribbia, kribba, AS. cribb, E. crib. In HG. occurs a variant with pf, which is phonetically obscure, OHG. chripfa, MidHG. and ModHG. kripfe; there are also dial. forms with u in the stem, Swiss krüpfli, LG. krübbe, AS. crybb, Scand. krubba, ‘crib.’ This word, in Goth. uzêta, ‘the thing from which one feeds,’ is connected with MidHG. krëbe, ‘basket’; hence ‘resembling a basket, woven,’ was perhaps the prim. meaning of Krippe. The West Teut. word passed into ​Rom. — Ital. greppia, Prov. crupia (the latter connected with the Teut. forms in u mentioned above), ModFr. crèche (whence E. cratch, ‘a grated crib,’ MidE. crache).
kritteln, vb., ‘to find fault, carp,’ ModHG. simply from a popular term, gritteln, ‘to wrangle’ (wanting in MidHG. and OHG.), with an allusion to Kritik, &c.
kritzeln, vb., ‘to scribble,’ dimin. of MidHG. kritzen, ‘to scrawl,’ OHG. chrizzôn, ‘to scratch or cut into.’ It is probably connected with kratzen, OHG. chrazzôn, as well as with OIc. krota, ‘to engrave, stamp.’ If this is not approved, it may be allied to Kreis (root krī̆t); kritjôn (whence chrizzôn) would then mean ‘to draw lines.’
Krolle, f., ‘curl’ (Rhen.), from the equiv. MidHG. krolle, krol(-les), m.; comp. Du. krul, f., ‘curl.’ MidHG. krol, adj., Du. krullig, MidE. crul, adj., ‘curly’; Du. krullen, MidE. crullen, ‘to frizzle.’ For the connection between MidHG. krolle, f. (Goth. *krŭzlô), and ModHG. kraus, MidHG. krûs, see under kraus.
Krone, f., ‘crown,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krône, krôn; in OHG. corôna (with the foreign accent preserved), from Lat. cŏrôna (the unaccented ŏ disappeared in MidHG.); comp. MidE. corûne, croune, E. crown; in MidDu. the double form crône, krûne, existed, Du. kroon, kruin. Scand. krúna, f. In AS. the term cyne-helm, lit. ‘king's helmet,’ was substituted for Lat. corona of the Biblical texts (just as sceptrum was rendered by cynegerd, lit. ‘king's staff’); in OSax. and OHG. hôƀidband, houbitbant, ‘crown.’ These words show that the Teutons had their own distinctive terms for the royal insignia. With the Lat. name they also borrowed a new idea —
krönen, ‘to crown,’ from MidHG. krœnen and a denominative from Krone; thus it is not Lat. coronare, to which OHG. chrônôn more accurately corresponds.
Kropf, m., from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. kropf, m., ‘goitre, crop, craw’; corresponding to Du. krop, m., ‘crop, bosom, bow of a ship,’ E. crop (of birds, top, harvest), AS. cropp, which has the special meanings ‘crop, summit, top (of trees), ear (of corn, cluster of grapes’; OIc. kroppr, ‘trunk, body’ (also ‘hump’), is still more remarkable. To these numerous senses, a primary meaning, ‘a round mass in the shape of a ball, a projecting spherical body,’ has been assigned; with this the Rom. loan-words such as Fr. groupe, ‘group, cluster, knot,’ coincide. Goth. *kruppa- might be related to Gr. γρῦπός, ‘curved,’ if ‘crop, excrescence,’ represented the prim. meaning of the group.
Kropzeug, n., ‘rogues,’ a LG. word, formed from LG. krôp (comp. kriechen), ‘crawling creature, small cattle,’ but this is not quite certain. Others connect it with the preceding word Kropf, which also signifies in Suab. and Bav. ‘small, crippled creature, little man.’
Kröte, f., from the equiv. MidHG. krote, kröte, krëte, f. (even now dial. Krote, Krotte), OHG. chrota, chrëta, f., ‘toad.’ The forms with ë and o are related by gradation; comp. Brett and Bord. The word is peculiar to G.; in OIc. padda, Du. padde, AS. tâdie, E. toad. Etymologically all three are equally obscure.
Krücke, f., ‘crutch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krücke, krucke, OHG. chruccha (for *krukjô), f.; comp. Du. kruk, AS. cryčč, f. E. crutch. Certainly a genuine Teut. word (‘staff with a curved handle’); it is most closely connected with Scand. krókr, ‘hook, curve’; it may also be related to kriechen. In the MidHG. period it was confused with a Rom. term based upon Lat. crucea, and meaning ‘crosier.’ On the other hand, the Teut. word was submerged in many of the Rom. languages in the old inherited term; Ital. croccia, ‘crutch,’ crocco, ‘hook,’ Fr. crosse, ‘crook,’ croc, ‘hook’; MidLat. croca, ‘baculus episcopalis,’ crocea, ‘baculus pastoralis’ and ‘baculus incurvus,’ croceus, croccia, crucia, crucca, ‘crutch,’ Krücke can scarcely be explained from MidLat. crucea, ‘cross-bar’ (of a window), because this must have become chruzza (ce changed to tz); comp. Kreuz.
Krug (1.), m., ‘jug, pitcher,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kruoc (g), OHG. chruog, m,; corresponding to AS. crôg, crôh, ‘pitcher,’ also ‘bottle.’ Besides these terms, based upon a common form krôga-, there are several words allied in sound and meaning; comp. OSax. krûka, Du. kruik, f., AS. crûce, MidE. crouke; MidHG. krûche, f., ModHG. (dial.) Krauche. AS. crocca (and crohh), MidE. crokke, ‘pitcher,’ Ic. krukka, ‘pot.’ Since it is not improbable that all these terms were borrowed, we may perhaps connect them further with Krause. Their source, however, cannot be assigned, since the corresponding words in the allied languages may also have been borrowed, and are insufficient phonetically to account ​for the numerous Teut. terms. Some etymologists derive then from Kelt. words such as W. crwc, ‘pail,’ from which Fr. cruche, ‘pitcher,’ may be derived, if it is not of G. origin. The Goth. term for ‘pitcher’ is aúrkeis (borrowed from Lat. urceus). Comp. Krug (2).
Krug (2.), m., ‘alehouse,’ comp. Du. kroeg; it passed into HG. and Du. from LG., where it is recorded since the 13th cent. The quondam assumption that the word is identical with Krug (1), “because formerly an actual or a carved pitcher was hung in front of a tavern,” is demolished by the fact that Krug, ‘urceus,’ is entirely unknown to LG. (and Du.); the OSax. term krûka was used. On the other hand, Krug, ‘alehouse,’ was orig. wanting in HG., in which Krug, ‘pitcher,’ was current at the earliest period.
Kruke, see Krug (1).
Krume, f., ‘crumb,’ a LG. loan-word, wanting in MidHG.; comp. LG. krûme, Du. kruim, AS. crûme, E. crumb, crum. The root krū̆ appears also in krauen, OHG. chrouwôn, ‘to scratch, operate with the nails.’ Allied to Gr. γρῦμέα, ‘rubbish’ (Aryan root grū̆)?.
krumm, adj., ‘crooked,’ from MidHG. krump(b), OHG. chrumb, ‘crooked, curved, twisted, perverted’ (comp. kraus); rare variants OHG. and MidHG. krumpf, OHG. chrampf, as well as MidHG. krimpf, in the same sense. Comp. OSax. crumb, AS. crumb; E. crump, ‘crooked,’ is abnormal (with this E. to crumple, MidE. crumpeln, and also E. crimple, ‘wrinkle, fold,’ are connected). Under Krampf it is shown how the graded and permutated forms are widely ramified; the Teut. root signified ‘spasmodically contracted, curved.’ Besides the cognates of West Teut. krumba-, from pre-Teut. grumpó-, quoted under Krampf, comp. the unnasalised Gr. γρῦπός, ‘curved, bent’?. OIr. cromm, W. crwm, seem to have been borrowed from AS.
Kruppe, f., ‘crupper,’ ModHG. only, borrowed from Fr. croupe, whence E. croup. The Fr. word has been derived from Scand. kryppa, f., ‘hump, excrescence’ (allied to kroppr, ‘hump’). See the following word.
Krüppel, m., ‘cripple,’ from the equiv. MidHG. krüppel, krüpel, m.; it passed in the MidHG. period from LG. into HG.; Du. kreupel, E. cripple, MidE. and AS. cryppel, Scand. kryppell, kryplingr. The p of these forms is HG. pf (Alsat. Krüpfel), hence we must assume that HG. Krüppel was borrowed from LG. and MidG. Allied in the UpG. dials. to Swiss chrüft, chrüpfe, Suab. kropf, kruft, krüftle, Bav. krapf, kropf, ‘deformed person,’ and the cognate Bav. krüpfen, ‘to become crooked,’ akin to OIc. kroppr, kryppa, ‘hump,’ and the cognates discussed under Kropf. Besides Gr. γρυπός, ‘curved,’ we may also refer to OSlov. grŭbŭ, ‘back,’ ModSlov. grbanec, ‘wrinkle,’ Serv. grba, ‘hump’ (grbati se, ‘to stoop’).
Kruste, f., ‘crust,’ from the rare MidHG. kruste, OHG. crusta, f., ‘crust’; a learned term which has been first naturalised in ModHG. Derived from Lat. crusta, whence also Du. korst, E. crust, as well as Rom. words like Fr. croûte.
Krystall, m., from the equiv. MidHG. kristál, kristálle, m. OHG. krystálla, f., ‘crystal.’ The retention of the Lat. accent (crystállus, m. and f.) preserved the foreign aspect of this merely learned term, which was borrowed at a very early period.
Kübel, m., ‘tub, bucket,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kübel, OHG. *chubil, m.; comp. OHG. miluh-chubilî, -chubilîn, n., ‘milk-pail’; allied to AS. cŷf (from kûbi-), MidE. kîve, ‘cask.’ The stem is genuinely Teut.; it is doubtful whether it is connected with the cognates (‘narrow space’) discussed under Koben. Its Rom. origin at all events must be rejected. — ModLat. cupella, cupellus, ‘mensura frumentaria’ and ‘vas potorium,’ do not coincide in meaning; Du. kuip, ‘vat, cask,’ is alone connected with Lat. cûpa, ‘cask.’ Some Rom. words, such as Prov. cubel, ‘tub,’ are derived from the Teut. cognates, from which Slav. and Lett. words are borrowed; Lith. kùbilas, ‘tub,’ OSlov. kŭbĭlŭ, ‘vessel,’ as a corn measure. Comp. Koben, Kopf, and Kufe.
Küche, f., ‘kitchen,’ from the equiv. MidHG. küche, küchen, kuchîn (UpG. without mutation kuche, kuchi), OHG. chúhhī̆na, f.; corresponding to AS. cyčene, f., E. kitchen, Du. keuken. An old West Teut. word, probably not derived immediately from late Lat. coquîna, ‘kitchen,’ but rather from a common Rom. and MidLat. cûcina (kukī̆na; comp. Ital. cucina, Fr. cuisine). The HG. ch (OHG. hh) for c, k, in consequence of the HG. permutation points to the adoption of the term about the 6th cent., at which period the South Europ. arts of cookery and horticulture were introduced into Germany; comp. Koch, Kuchen, Kohl, Kümmel, and Pfeffer.
​ Kuchen, m., ‘cake,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kuoche, OHG. chuohho, m.; comp. MidLG. kôke, Du. koek. Besides these forms with old ô in the stem (comp. AS. cœ́čil, MidE. kêchel, ‘little cake,’ E. dial. keech) there occurs in the Scand. and E. languages an apparently graded form with a — E. cake, and the equiv. Scand. kaka, f. This gradation seems to point to a Teut. origin of the cognates, yet their relation to the Rom. class (Catal. coca, Rheto-Rom. cocca, Picard. couque, ‘cake’), connected with Lat. coquus, coquere (AS. côc, OHG. chohhôn), is not clear. Moreover, on the assumption that the word was borrowed, ô in OHG. chuohho would correspond exactly to the ô in AS. côc, ‘cook.’
Küchenschelle, f., ‘pasque flower,’ ModHG. only, interpreted from one of the variants Kuh-, Kühschelle as Kühchenschelle; its relation to the equiv. Fr. coquelourde is obscure; the ModHG. form is certainly a corruption.
Küchlein, n., ‘chicken,’ ModHG. only; a MidG. and LG. word introduced by Luther into HG. (in UpG. dial. hüenli, West MidG. hünkel, Suab. luggele). To the MidG. and LG. küchen, küken, correspond AS. čŷčen (plur. čŷcnu), MidE. chîken, E. chick, chicken, Scand. kjúklingr, Du. kieken, keuken. The Goth. dimin. termination -îna- (*kiukein) frequently occurs in the names of animals, Goth. gait-ein, AS. tiččen (Goth. *tikkein), AS. hêčen (Goth. *hôkein), n. ‘kid’; see Füllen, Geiß, Schwein, Zicklein, and Mädchen. The substan. on which the word is based is AS. cocc, E. cock, Scand. kokkr (to which Goth. *kiukein, n., is related by gradation). There is no reason for thinking that the Teut. word was borrowed from Rom. — Fr. coq, like AS. cocc (UpG. gockel, gückel), is a recent onomatopoetic term also, for W. and Corn. cog, ‘cuckoo,’ points also to the base cucâ (so too OIr. cúach, ‘cuckoo,’ from coucâ). Comp. Kuckuck.
kucken, see gucken.
Kuckuck, m., ‘cuckoo,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. kuckuk (rare), m.; the usual term in MidHG. is gouch, which was introduced in the 15th cent. from Du. (koekoek, early MidDu. cuccûc). An onomatopoetic term widely diffused, but it is not necessary to assume that it was borrowed in most of the languages, E. cuckoo, Fr. coucou, Lat. cuculus, W. and Corn. cog, Or. cúach. See also Küchlein.
Kufe (1.), f., ‘runner of a sledge’; MidHG. *kuofe and *kuoche are wanting with this meaning, so too OHG. *chuofa; OHG. chuohha is found, however, in slito-chôha, ‘runner of a sledge’ (see examples of the interchange of k-ch and p-f under kriechen); comp. MidLG. kôke, ‘runner of a sledge.’ Perhaps Lith. żágrė, f., ‘forked piece of wood on a plough,’ is allied, and also its cognates żáginýs, m., ‘stake, post,’ żágaras, m., ‘dry twig.’ From these the evolution of meaning in Kufe may be inferred.
Kufe (2.), f., ‘coop, vat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kuofe, OHG. chuofa, f. The prim. form of the word previous to the HG. permutation of consonants is represented by OSax. côpa, f., and the equiv. E. coop. From MidLat. côpa, a variant of cûpa, ‘cask,’ whence Du. kuip, ‘coop’; comp. also Kübel. The word must have been borrowed before the 7th cent., since it has undergone permutation in HG.; perhaps it was introduced with the culture of the vine.
Küfer, m., from the equiv. küefer, m., ‘cooper’; comp. Du. kuiper, E. cooper.
Kugel, f., ‘ball, bullet, globe,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kugel, kugele, f.; comp. MidLG. and Du. kogel. The word is not recorded in the other languages. It is allied to ModHG. Kaul-, from kûl, kugl, and also to ModHG. Keule, with which E. cudgel and AS. cyčgel is closely connected; Keule is a ‘pole with a ball-shaped end.’ Kugel and Kegel cannot possibly be related by gradation.
Kuh, f., ‘cow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. kuo, f.; comp. MidLG. kô, Du. koe, E. cow, AS. cû, OIc. kýr, f. (Goth. *kôs); Teut. type kô-, f., ‘cow.’ This word, like the names of other domestic animals, is found in the non-Teut. languages, and in the form of gō̆w (gô) it is common to the Aryan group; comp. Ind. gâus (acc. gâm), f., Gr. βούς (stem βοϝ), Lat. bos (stem bov-). These terms are both mas. and fem., hence Sans. gâus, m., ‘bull, cattle,’ f., ‘cow’; Gr. βούς, ‘cattle, ox, cow’; Lat. bos, ‘ox, cow’; Lett. gůws, ‘cow.’ This term, like other primit. Aryan words (comp. Pferd, Schaf, Hund, Ochse, &c.), proves that the Aryans, before the division into the later tribes, were already acquainted with domestic animals.
Kühl, adj., ‘cool,’ from the equiv. MidHG. küel, küele, adj., also a regularly ​non-mutated form kuol- in compounds such as kuolhûs, n., ‘cooling-house,’ and in the adv. kuole (comp. schon, spät, fast); OHG. chuoli, adj., ‘cool’ (*chuolo, adv.). It corresponds to MidLG. kôl, Du. koel, AS. côl, E. cool. In the form of kôli- (orig. kôlu-) the adj. is common to West Teut.; the adj. kalt is the old partic. form from the stem of kühl, from which in Scand. (kala) and AS. (calan) str. vbs. are formed; the further cognates E. chill, AS. čęle, čyle, ‘cold,’ are based on a Goth. *kali- (n. sing. *kals). Comp. kalt.
kühn, adj., ‘bold, daring,’ from MidHG. küen, küene, OHG. chuoni, ‘bold, eager for combat, strong’; comp. the non-mutated variant in the MidHG. and OHG. derivative kuonheit, ‘boldness,’ and in the OHG. adv. chuono. It corresponds to MidLG. koene, Du. koen, AS. cêne, ‘bold,’ E. keen (the adj. is obsolete in Suab. and Bav.); Scand. kœ́nn, ‘wise, experienced.’ The latter must at one time have been the prevalent sense in West Teut. also, as is proved by the ModHG. proper name Konrad; OHG. and MidHG. Kuonrât (without mutation, like OHG. and MidHG. kuonheit), AS. Cênrêd (Goth. *Kônirêþs), may have meant ‘giving wise advice.’ Teut. kôn-i- (lit. ‘one that can understand, sensible’) is orig. a verbal adj. from the vb. kennen, können, hence the West Teut. sense ‘bold,’ compared with the OIc. meaning, must be regarded as derivative. All intellectual and moral conceptions of the OTeut. period are related more or less to war and conflict (comp. bald, schnell, and Krieg).
Küken, LG., see Küchlein.
Kümmel, m., ‘cummin, caraway seeds,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kümel, OHG. chumil, m., with the variants MidHG. kümin, OHG. chumī̆n; comp. AS. cymen, Du. komijn, MidLG. kömen; from Lat. and Rom. cŭmînum. The change of n into l is the same as in Igel (in UpG. still kümi, kümich). With regard to the period of the adoption of Lat. words relating to horticulture and the art of cookery, comp. Käse, Küche, Minze, Pfeffer, &c.
Kummer, m., ‘grief, sorrow, distress,’ from MidHG. kumber, m., ‘rubbish, refuse (thus still dial.), encumbering, oppression, distress, grief’; ModHG. mm, from MidHG. mb, as in Zimmer, Lamm, and Kamm. The word is wanting in all the OTeut. dials.; comp. ModDu. kommer, m., ‘grief, affliction; hare's dung’; MidE. combren, ‘to encumber, molest,’ E. to cumber. The cognates are very similar in sound to a Rom. class — Fr. décombres, ‘rubbish,’ Port. comoro, combro, ‘mound of earth, hillock,’ Ital. ingombro, ‘hindrance,’ Fr. encombrer, ‘to obstruct (with rubbish), block up’; MidLat. combrus, ‘mound of earth, barrier of felled trees, obstructing pile.’ The Teut. cognates seem to have passed into Rom.; for, besides the more recent form with r, we find in AS. and Scand. a variant with l, OIc. kumbl, ‘tumulus, barrow.’
Kummet, n., ‘horse-collar,’ from the equiv. MidHG. komat, n.; borrowed in the MidHG. period from Slav. (comp. OSlov. chomątŭ, Pol. chomąt); hence not diffused beyond the HG. group. The Slav. cognates of OSlov. chomątu are derived from OTeut.; comp. MidE. and ModE. hame, Du. haam, Westphal. ham, Rhine Prov. hamen, hammen, ‘horse-collar.’
Kumpan, m., ‘companion, mate,’ from MidHG. kumpân, kompân, m., ‘comrade, associate’; the latter is derived from OFr. Prov. compaing, ‘companion, partner.’ MidLat. companio, lit. ‘one who shares the same food,’ is based on OTeut. expressions such as Goth. gahlaiba, OHG. gileibo, m., ‘associate, comrade,’ and the equiv. OHG. gimaȥȥo, from maȥ, n., ‘food’; see Laib.
Kumpest, Kompóst, m., ‘preserves, heap of rubbish or dung,’ from MidHG. kumpost, also kumpóst, m., ‘preserves,’ espec. ‘pickled cabbage,’ from Rom. (Ital. compósto).
Kumpf, m., ‘basin, bowl,’ from MidHG. kumpf, m., ‘vessel’; comp. LG. kump. A MidLat. cumpus as the source of the G. word does not exist; MidLat. cumba, cumbus, have too no such meaning as Kumpf, hence they cannot be adduced to explain the dial. ModHG. Kumme, ‘deep bowl.’ Kumme and Kumpf are more probably genuine Teut. words, and allied to AS. cumb and the equiv. E. coomb.
Künchel, see Kaninchen.
kund, adj., ‘known, manifest,’ from MidHG. kunt(d), OHG. chund, adj., ‘become acquainted, noted, known.’ It corresponds to Goth. kunþs, ‘noted,’ OSax. cûth, AS. cûþ, ‘noted,’ E. couth (now only in the compound uncouth). A common Teut. adj. in the form kunþa-, from the non-permutated gń-to-, which is prop. a partic. in to- from the verbal stem of the root gō̆n, gnô, discussed under können, kennen, ​and kühn. For other partics. formed into adjs. see under laut.
Kunft, f., ‘arrival,’ from MidHG. and OHG. kunft, kumft, f., ‘coming, arrival’; comp. Goth. gaqumþs, f., ‘meeting, assembly,’ the corresponding verbal abstract to Goth. qiman, HG. kommen, with the suffix þi-, from -ti- (comp. Schuld, Durst, and Gift). The insertion of an f in the combination mþ (mfþ becoming mft; comp. further Vernunft, Zunft, Ramft) corresponds to the addition of an s to nþ (nsþ becoming nst), mentioned under Kunst. —
künftig, adj., ‘to come, future,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kümftec, OHG. kumftîg.
Kunkel, f., ‘distaff,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kunkel, f., OHG. chunchala, f.; a Suab., Alem., and Rhen. word, for which Rocken occurs in other dials. (Bav. and also MidG.). It is wanting in the remaining OTeut. dials., and its diffusion supports the assumption that it has been borrowed from Rom., especially since the earlier OHG. form chonachla closely resembles the equiv. Rom. words in sound; MidLat. conucla (for colucula?, dimin. of colus, ‘distaff’?), equiv. to Ital. conocchia, Fr. quenouille, ‘distaff,’ whence also the equiv. OIr. cuicel. Others refer the word to the cognates discussed under Kaufer, with the prim. meaning ‘to spin.’
Kunst, f., ‘skill, art, address,’ from MidHG. and OHG. kunst, f., ‘knowledge, wisdom, skill, art’; comp. OSax. cunsti, plur., ‘knowledge, wisdom,’ Du. kunst; wanting in E. and Goth. A verbal abstract from können, like Kunft from kommen; s is a euphonic insertion before the dental; comp. Brunst from brennen, Gunst from gönnen.
kunterbunt, adj., ‘higgledy-piggledy,’ ModHG. only; in MidHG., however, kuntervêch, adj., which means ‘variegated, strange as a Kunter,’ i.e. ‘monster’. But while MidHG. kunter, ‘monster,’ and OHG. chuntar, ‘herd, drove of cattle’ (cognate with OSlov. ženą, Lith. genù, ‘I drive cattle’?), are UpG., kunterbunt is prop. LG. Both MidHG. kuntervêch and ModHG. kunterbunt are imitations of MidHG. kunterfeit, lit. ‘contrafactus, not genuine’; from this in MidHG. (MidG.) a word kunter, ‘what is false, deceptive,’ was deduced.
Kupfer, n., ‘copper,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kupfer, OHG. chupfar, n.; an old loan-word from which *kuppor must have been the earliest form; the word was borrowed before the 7th cent.; comp. Du. and MidLG. koper, AS. copor, E. copper, Scand. kopar. These are probably based on MidLat. cuper (gen. -eris). Late Lat. cuprum, or rather œs cyprium, or simply cyprium (whence Fr. cuivre), is an Italian (not a Greek) term; the Teuts. probably owe to the Italians their earliest knowledge of copper. The island of Cyprus was called Kipper by the Germans of the Middle Ages, following the Byzant. and ModGr. pronunciation of Κύπρος; hence MidHG. kippor or kipperwîn, ‘Cyprian wine.’
Kuppe, f., ‘peak, summit,’ adopted by the written language in the last century from MidHG.; in HG. the form would have pf. Koppe and Kuppe, as well as Kaupe (‘crest of birds,’ also termed Koppe, comp. OSax. coppod, ‘cristatus’ of snakes, under Kopf), are allied words, with the prim. meaning ‘point, extreme end,’ which belonged orig. to the strictly HG. permutated form Kopf. The further history of all these terms is obscure; under Kopf it is assumed that they are of genuine Teut. origin, though the possibility of their being blended with MidLat. and Rom. cupa, ‘beaker,’ is granted. In MidHG. kuppe, f. OHG. chuppa, f., means ‘covering for the head’ (espec. under the helmet); see Kopf.
Kuppel, f., ‘cupola, dome,’ ModHG. only, from Ital. cupola (Fr. coupole).
Kuppeln, vb., ‘to couple, fence (a field),’ from MidHG. kuppeln, koppeln, ‘to leash, bind, fetter, unite’; MidHG. kuppelspil, ‘coupling,’ kuppelœre, ‘match-maker, procurer,’ and kuppelœrinne, the fem. form; a deriv. of Koppel, Lat. copulare.
Kur, Chur, f., ‘election,’ in Kurfürst connected with erkoren, erkiesen; MidHG. kür, küre, f. (MidG. kur, kure, without modification), ‘consideration, selection,’ espec. ‘election of a king’ (MidHG. kür-, kurvürste, MidG. korvürste, ‘Elector’); OHG. churi, f., is preserved in HG. Willfür in the regularly mutated form. AS. cyre, m., ‘choice’; Scand. kør, keyr, n., ‘choice.’ See kiesen.
Kurbe, Kurbel, f., ‘crank, winch,’ from MidHG. kurbe, OHG. churba, f., ‘windlass over a well’; generally traced to Fr. courbe, and further to Lat. *curva, ‘bent piece of wood,’ from curvus.
Kürbis, m., ‘gourd, pumpkin,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kürbeȥ, kürbiȥ, OHG. churbiȥ, m. (rarely f.); borrowed previous ​to the HG. permutation (of t to ȥȥ) from Lat. cucúrbita, whence also AS. cyrfet. Whether the reduplicated form of the Lat. word was influenced by Teut. itself cannot be determined. From Lat. cucurbita are also derived Ital. cucuzza, Fr. gourde, whence E. gourd, Du. kauwoerde.
küren, vb., ‘to choose, select,’ ModHG. only, derived from an older kŭr, f., ‘choice,’ equiv. to Kur.
Kürschner, m., ‘furrier,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kursenœ̂re, m. (sch from s, as in Arsch, birschen, and Hirsch), a derivative of MidHG. kürsen, f., ‘fur coat,’ OHG. chursinna, chrusina, AS. crûsne, ‘fur coat’; MidLat. crusna, crusina, crusinna. Cognate terms also occur in Slav. (OSlov. krŭzno, Russ. korzno), in which, however, the word did not originate any more than it did in G., yet it may have been introduced into G. through a Slav. medium, perhaps from some Northern language. The prim. kinship of OHG. chursina with Gr. βύρσα, ‘hide, skin,’ is scarcely conceivable.
kurz, adj., ‘short,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. kurz; a very curious loanword from Lat. curtus. What may have led to its adoption is even more obscure than in the case of sicher (from Lat. securus). The assumption of its being borrowed is supported only by the form kurt (without the change of t to z), which appears also in strictly UpG. records; comp. OHG. porta, pforta, and pforza, from Lat. porta. The form curt is OSax. and OFris.; comp. also Du. kort and Ic. kortr. The Lat. loan-word passed by degrees into all the Teut. dialects except E., which preserved an OTeut. word for ‘short’ with which the Lat. word, from its close resemblance in sound, has been confused — AS. sceort, E. short (comp. OHG. skurz, ‘short’); these cannot, on account of their want of permutation, be primit. allied to Lat. curtus. For the cognates of E. short see Schürze.
Kuß, m., ‘kiss,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. kus (gen. kusses); corresponding to Du. kus, OSax. cus, cos (gen. -sses), AS. coss, OIc. koss, m.; a common Teut. word for ‘kiss,’ wanting only in Goth. (*kussus, comp. Goth. kukjan, East Fris. kükken, ‘to kiss’). A pre-Teut. root gut, gud, ‘to kiss,’ does not occur. Indubitable cognates are not found in the non-Teut. languages unless Ir. bus, ‘lip,’ and Gael. bus, ‘mouth with thick lips,’ are allied. —
küssen, vb., ‘to kiss,’ from MidHG. and MidLG. küssen, OHG. chussen; AS. cyssan, E. to kiss, OIc. kyssa.
Küssen, see Kissen.
Küste, f., ModHG. only, from the equiv. Du. kuste, kust, ‘coast,’ which, like E. coast, MidE. coste, is of Rom. origin, OFr. coste, côte, MidLat. costa, ‘coast.’
Küster, m., ‘sacristan,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. kustor, kuster, m. Adopted on the introduction of Christianity. While Kreuz, from OHG. chrûzi, is based upon the Lat. stem cruci-, acc. sing. crucem (and not the nomin. crux), Küster, on the other hand, is not derived from Lat. custodem (stem custodi-), or even from the non. sing. custos, since in the OHG. period the change of s into r no longer occurs. We have rather to proceed from an actually recorded MidLat. custor, custorem, a rare variant of the more prevalent form custod-, which appears also in Fr. coutre, OFr. costre, ‘sacristan.’ MidLat. custos (scil. ecclesiae), ‘warden, guardian of the church jewels, holy vessels, &c., presbyter s. clericus cui ecclesiae et templi cura incumbit.’ With the same sense MidLat. costurarius, whence OSax. costarâri, as well as ModHG. dial. Gusterer.
Kutsche, f., ‘coach,’ first occurs in early ModHG. from Hungar. koszi, ‘a carriage from Koszi’ (near Raab); a characteristic modern term common to the Europ. languages; comp. Fr. and Span. coche (E. coach), Ital. coccio, Du. koets.
Kutte, f., ‘cowl,’ from MidHG. kutte, f., ‘monk's habit’; comp. MidLat. cotta, cottus, ‘tunica clericis propria,’ which, however, with the corresponding Rom. words (Fr. cotte, ‘‘petticoat,’ Ital. cotta), may be traced back to Teut. kotta-, appearing in OHG. chozzo, MidHG. kotze, ‘coarse woollen stuff, cover.’ Comp. Kotze.
Kutteln, f., ‘chitterlings, tripe,’ from MidHG. kutel, f., ‘gut, tripe’; as a genuine UpG. word it is probably not cognate with LG. küt, ‘entrails,’ but connected rather with Goth. qiþus, ‘belly.’
Kux, m., ‘share in a mine,’ earlier ModHG. and dial. Ruckus; first occurs in early ModHG., perhaps introduced from the Slav. frontier mountains.