Phrases and Names Their Origins and Meanings : 'K' (영어 이름과 표현의 의미와 유래)

 

Kaaba. The stone building inside the great Mosque at Mecca; said to have been erected over the spot where Adam first worshipped after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The name is Arabic for “square house.”

Kaffraria. The country of the Kaffirs or “unbelievers,” from the Mohammedan standpoint. This term was applied not only to the natives south of Abyssinia and the desert regions of Africa, but also to the people of a country in Central Asia east of the Hindu Cush known accordingly as Kafiristan. Kaifer is Arabic for “infidel,” and the suffix stan expresses the Persian for “country.”

Kailyard. Scottish for cabbage garden.

Kaisar. The German form of the title of the Roman Emperors, “Cæsar.”

Kalmucks. A Western corruption of the native Khalmick, or “Apostates,” the name given to this large family of the Mongolian race because they rejected the doctrines of Buddha. It was these Kalmucks who, under the name of “Huns,” descended upon Europe in the fourth century.

Kamptulicon. From the Greek Kampto, to bend.

Kansas. The Indian name for the river, signifying “smoky water”; afterwards applied also to the state.

Keble College. A memorial college at Oxford of the Rev. John Keble, author of “The Christian Year,” whose death took place in 1866.

Keelhaul. To haul under the keel of a vessel from stem to stern by means of ropes on either side. This was the most dreaded, because the most dangerous, punishment meted out to seamen or apprentices by tyrannical captains in former times. Readers of Captain Marryat’s “Snarleyyow, or the Dog Fiend” will recollect what that meant to the hapless victim.

Keeping Crispin. An old phrase for the shoemakers’ annual holiday on the Feast of St Crispin, their patron saint, 25th October. In some parts of the country we hear of it in connection with what passes elsewhere under the name of “Cobblers’ Monday.”

Keep it Dark. The reference was originally to treasure kept in a place of concealment.

Keep on Pegging at it. See “Peg Away.”

Keep the Ball Rolling. An expression derived from the game of Bandy, in which the two sets of players, armed with hooked sticks, continually sent the ball rolling to opposite goals.

Keep the Pot Boiling. The antithesis of a hand-to-mouth existence; meaning the command not only of something for the stock pot but also needful fuel.

Keep the Wolf from the Door. By paying one’s way others will prosper likewise, and ravenous creditors clamouring at the door for their just demands will be non-existent. The wolf is represented by a greedy landlord hungering for his rent, or, failing that, the household goods.

Keep your Nose to the Grindstone. To continue hard at work without cessation. If a tool is not held close to the grindstone the stone will go round all the same, but the tool does not get sharpened. So a man may loiter over his work, but the actual accomplishment is nil.

Keep your Pecker up. Have courage, and hold your head erect. Pecker is slang for the mouth, in allusion to fowls which peck their food--in other words, they strike at it with the beak.

Keep your Weather Eye open. Be on a sharp look-out in the right direction. A sailor looks towards the wind in order to forecast the weather.

Kendal. Expresses the dale of the River Ken.

Kendal Green. Green cloth made at Kendal in Westmoreland, for which this town was long famous. The cloths produced here still bear the name of “Kendals.”

Kennington. The town which grew up in the king’s meadow. Henry VIII. had a rural retreat erected here.

Kensington. Described in Anglo-Saxon records as Kynsington, or king’s meadow town.

Kensington Gore. After Gore House, the residence of the Countess of Blessington, that occupied part of the site of the Royal Albert Hall.

Kent. Called by the Romans Cæsar Cantium after the Cantii, who peopled this Kenn, headland or corner, of Albion’s Isle.

Kentish Fire. The name given to rapturous volleys of cheers, such as that which distinguished the Kentish men when they applauded the “No Popery” orators in 1828-9.

Kentish Man. A native of the county of Kent, west of the Medway.

Kentish Town. A corruption of “Kantelowes Town,” built upon the manor of the same name. The modern spelling of this family name is “Cantlowes,” which is that given to a street on the south side of Camden Road.

Kent Street. Leads out of London to the great Kentish highway to Dover. At one time the landlords in this street took away the front doors of tenants who were more than a fortnight in arrears of paying their rent. This, styled a “Kent Street Ejectment,” was found effectual in getting rid of unprofitable tenants.

Kentucky. Indian for “long river.”

Keppel Street. From the “Admiral Keppel” at the corner of this street and Fulham Road.

Kerchief. See “Handkerchief.”

Kersey. From Kersey, in Suffolk, once famed for its woollen manufacture.

Kettledrum. A rounded drum, so called from its shape; also the name given to a tea party, both on account of the noise made by the guests, and because the hostess metaphorically beats them up at the time of sending out her invitations. See “Drum.”

Kettle of Fish. See “Pretty Kettle of Fish.”

Kew. Styled in ancient documents Kay-hoo, meaning a quay on a hoo or oe, which expressed the Danish for an island; also a spit of land at the mouth of a river or creek.

Keystone State. Pennsylvania, geographically considered as seventh among the thirteen original states of the Union.

Khaki. Expresses the Hindoo for “colour of cow dung.” This term came into prominence during the South African War, when all British uniforms were made of materials of this hue, so as to make our troops less conspicuous to the enemy.

Khan. Expresses the Persian, from a Tartar word, for a lord or prince.

Khedive. From the Persian khidiw, a king. In the Turkish khadiv the title expresses a ruler one grade removed from a Sultan.

Kicker. An Americanism for one who at a public meeting objects to a proposal.

Kick the Bucket. An expression derived from the primitive mode of a man hanging himself by standing on a bucket, and then kicking it aside. The “drop” in this case could not have been a long one.

Kidnap. Not only is this word accepted English in the absence of a more refined equivalent, but it is also made to do service in the case of an adult taken away against his will. Kid, of course, expresses a young goat, and is slang for a child. The second portion of the term is likewise slang, from nab, to steal.

Kidney Bean. The coarse bean shaped like a kidney.

Kiel. From the Danish keol, a ship.

Kilbride. The church of St Bride or Bridget.

Kilburn. Expresses the kil, or cell, of “one Godwynne, a holy hermit,” beside the bourn, or brook.

Kildare. From the Celtic kildara, the cell or hermitage among the oaks. A monastery was founded here by St Bridget towards the close of the fifth century.

Kilkenny. The kil, or church, of St Kenny or Canice in connection with the ancient abbey dedicated to St John.

Killarney. A corruption of “Killeaney,” from the church of the Dominican monastery on the banks of the River Leane.

Kindergarten. Expresses the German for a children’s garden or playground. The system of juvenile education so called aims at self-tuition by means of toys and games.

Kinetoscope. The name originally given to our modern “living pictures,” from the Greek kinetikos, “putting in motion.” See “Mutoscope.”

King Charles Spaniel. The small species of “Spaniel” which was such a favourite with Charles I.

King Edward’s Grammar School. A superior academical institution founded and endowed for the tuition of Latin and Greek grammar by Edward VI.

King Edward Street. After Edward VI., the “Boy King,” founder of Christ’s Hospital, or Blue Coat Grammar School, hard by.

Kingfisher. The king of fisher birds that dive into water for their prey, so called on account of its gay plumage.

King James’s Bible. The Authorised Version ordered to be prepared and given to the people by James I.

King-maker. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, so called because he was instrumental in placing both Edward IV. on the Yorkist and Henry VI. on the Lancastrian side on the throne after espousing their individual cause.

King of Bath. The sobriquet of Richard Nash, also known as Beau Nash, who for more than half-a-century was Master of Ceremonies at the fashionable Assembly Rooms of Bath.

King’s Arms. An inn sign, originally representing the counterfeit presentment or royal arms of an individual sovereign, but now a mere name, which must have done duty alike in honouring a long line of monarchs.

King’s Bench. Anciently the superior Court of Law presided over by the King in person, when he sat on an oaken bench. Wherever he went in state this Court followed him. Judges and magistrates are still said to occupy the Bench.

King’s College. At Cambridge, founded in 1441 by Henry VI. In London, the foundation by a royal charter of George IV. in 1828.

King’s County. In honour of Philip of Spain, the husband of Queen Mary. The original name was Ossaly.

King’s Cross. So called from a statue of George IV. set up here at the accession of that monarch, and taken down in 1842 to make way for the Great Northern Railway terminus. It is highly probable that an ancient cross stood on the same spot, since, quite apart from the fact that Queen Boadicea was defeated by the Romans at Battle Bridge hereabouts, it was in this neighbourhood too that King Alfred waged a sanguinary conflict with the Danes.

King’s Evil. The name given to scrofula, from the old superstitious idea that it could be cured by the touch of a king or queen.

Kingsgate Street. So called from the gate through which James I. passed across the meadows to Theobalds in Hertfordshire, his favourite hunting seat.

King’s Head. See “King’s Arms.”

Kingsland. This district marked the southern limits of the ancient royal domain of Enfield Chase.

King’s Lynn. Anciently called “Lynn Episcopi,” being the property of the Bishop of Norwich. At the dissolution of the monasteries Henry VIII. sequestered this estate, and gave the town the name of Lynn Regis, or King’s Lynn. The word Lynn is Celtic for “pool.”

King’s Own Men. The 78th Foot, so called from their Gaelic motto: “Cuidichr Rhi” (Help the King).

King’s Road. In compliment to Charles II., who caused this highway between Chelsea and Fulham Palace to be made passable.

Kingston. The capital of Jamaica, after William III., in whose reign (1693) it was founded.

Kingston-on-Thames. From the ancient stone on which seven of the Anglo-Saxon kings were crowned. This interesting relic is now enclosed with iron railings near the Town Hall.

Kingstown. Originally “Dunleary,” the name was changed in honour of the visit of George IV. in September 1821.

King Street. That in Covent Garden, after Charles I., in whose reign it was laid out. In St James’s, after James I. In Cheapside, in honour of Henry IV., who passed down it to open the new Guildhall. At Westminster, because this was the direct road between the Court and the Abbey.

Kingsway. The name given by the London County Council to the new thoroughfare from Holborn to the Strand opened by King Edward VII. in 1905.

King William Street. In the city, after William IV., who performed the inaugural ceremony of declaring the London Bridge open for traffic, 1st August 1831. The street of the same name west of the Strand was newly laid out in his reign as a direct thoroughfare to Leicester Square.

Kirkcudbright. Expresses the Celtic for “the Church of St Cuthbert.”

Kirkdale. The church in the dale or vale of Pickering.

Kirke’s Lambs. The nickname bestowed upon the 2nd Foot, under the command of Captain Kirke, during the “Bloody Assizes,” and having for their badge the Paschal Lamb.

Kirschwasser. German for “Cherry Water,” this beverage being distilled from the juice of the black cherry.

Kiss-me-Quick. The name of a small bonnet popular in England midway during the last century. Though of the “coal scuttle” pattern it did not extend beyond the face, and was chiefly worn by ladies going to parties or the play.

Kiss the Place and make it better. The expression, commonly employed by mothers and nurses to pacify children when they have hurt themselves, is a survival of the days of the sorcerers, who pretended to cure a disease by sucking the affected part.

Kiss the Scavenger’s Daughter. See “Scavenger’s Daughter.”

Kit. A soldier’s outfit, which he carries on his person when on the march. The name is derived from the Dutch kitte, a wooden beer-can strapped on the soldier’s belt.

Kit-Cat. The name given by artists to a three-quarter length portrait, and also to a canvas measuring 28 by 36 inches, in allusion to the portraits of uniform size, and all painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, to suit the dimensions of the apartments occupied by the famous Kit-Cat Club. This club was long held at the house of a pastrycook called Christopher Cat in Shire Lane, Fleet Street (now Serle’s Place), after whom, familiarly styled “Kit-Cat,” it took its name. His own mutton pies were the staple refreshment, from which circumstance such pies were until quite modern times also called “Kit-Cats.”

Kleptomania. The name given to an impulsive desire to steal or appropriate that which is ready to hand; so called from the Greek kleptes, thief, and mania, madness.

Knacker. From the Icelandic knakkr, a saddle; hence a dealer in and slaughterer of old horses.

Knapsack. From the Dutch and German knappen, to bite or chew, and zak, a sack. Like the original German and Dutch forms of this receptacle for a soldier’s necessaries on the march, the Swiss still carry a bag made of goatskin.

Knave. From the German knabe, a boy. The tricks peculiar to a boy no doubt caused this term to be applied to a deceitful or otherwise reprehensible fellow. The knave in a pack of cards represents, of course, the knight or servant to the king and queen.

Knife-board. The advertisement-board on either side of an omnibus roof, so called on account of its fancied resemblance to the domestic knife-sharpener. On the old-fashioned omnibuses the roof passengers sat back to back, with their feet touching the “knife-board,” and it was facetiously said they thereon sharpened their wits.

Knife and Fork Tea. See “High Tea.”

Knight. From the Saxon knicht, a servant, which is the origin also of the modern German knecht, a man-servant.

Knight Bachelor. One who in the days of chivalry forswore marriage until he had performed some feat of valour, and so merited renown.

Knight Banneret. A knight hastily created on the field of battle in recognition of signal bravery. This was done by tearing off a streamer from a banner and handing it to him as a token of investiture.

Knight Errant. One who went forth in quest of adventures, more particularly to win the admiration of fair ladies, by rescuing them, in common with the weak and oppressed, from the feudal lords whose rapacity in those barbarous ages knew no bounds. The word errant, like its modern equivalent errand, was derived from the Latin errare, to wander. It was in ridicule of this system of knight-errantry that Cervantes wrote his immortal romance “Don Quixote.”

Knight of the Yard Stick. An Americanism for a draper’s assistant or a retail dry-goods salesman; what in England people often style a “Counter Jumper.”

Knightrider Street. The place of assembling of the knights of old on their way in procession to the Smithfield tournaments.

Knightsbridge. Tradition has it that two knights who went to receive a blessing from the Bishop of London at Fulham Palace suddenly quarrelled, and fought a deadly combat on the bridge which anciently spanned the Westbourne where now stands Albert Gate. A public-house close by, demolished within the last three years, bore the sign of “The Fulham Bridge.”

Knights Hospitallers. The Second Order of Knights of the Crusades, who founded and protected the hospital at Jerusalem for the accommodation of pilgrims to the Holy Places. When at a later period they erected a larger hospital in connection with the church dedicated to St John the Baptist, they assumed the title of “Knights of St John of Jerusalem.”

Knights of Malta. The Knights Hospitallers who, having taken Rhode Island, were at length expelled therefrom by the Turks, and took up their establishment permanently at Malta.

Knights of St John of Jerusalem. See “Knights Hospitallers.”

Knights of the Road. Highwaymen, who were always good horsemen.

Knights Templars. The military Order of Knights of the Crusades, styled “Soldiers of the Temple.” Their aim was to wrest the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the Saracens, and maintain it through futurity.

Knights Teutonic. An independent Order of Knights of the Crusades composed of nobles from the cities of Bremen and Lubeck for the protection of German pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Knickerbockers. The people of the city of New York. When Washington Irving wrote his “History of New York” he assumed the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, in allusion to the wide breeches worn by the early settlers of the colony, then called by them New Amsterdam; hence the application of the term “Knickerbockers” to knee-breeches generally. New York is known as “The Knickerbocker City.”

Knocked into a Cocked Hat. Prostrated or completely flattened out like a cocked hat, which, as its name implies, could be cocked or carried under the arm.

Know-nothings. A secret society in the United States pledged to the checking of foreign immigration and political influence by foreigners which came into existence about the year 1848, and finally split upon the slavery question in 1860. When asked what its party or political aims were, all the members merely replied: “I don’t know; I know nothing.”

Knows the Ropes. Said of one who thoroughly understands his calling. A naval phrase, since a sailor must know all the ropes belonging to his ship.

K’nucks. In Canada the name given to French Canadians; elsewhere to Canadians generally. It has been stated on the authority of an intelligent French Canadian, by way of accounting for the origin of this term, that “the word ‘Cannuck’ is a corruption of ‘Connaught,’ the name we usually apply to the Irish, who are mostly emigrants from that province of Ireland.”

Kohinoor. A famous diamond which came into the possession of Queen Victoria on the annexation of the Punjaub in 1849. Its name expresses the Hindoo for “Mountain of Light.”

Kolis. The nickname of the 51st King’s Own Light Infantry, from the initials of their regimental name.

Koordistan. Pursuant to the Persian stan, the country of the Koords, “fierce, strong.”

Kopeck. A Russian copper coin of the value of three-eights of an English penny. So called from kopye, the native term for a lance, because this coin originally had upon it the representation of a lancer on horseback.

Kops Ale. A non-alcoholic ale brewed from the best Kentish hops, and not to be distinguished by appearances from the intoxicant. The name was chosen as a near approach to Hops Ale.

Koran. Properly Al Koran, Arabic for “the book,” “the reading,” or “the thing to be read.”

Koumiss. A Mongolian term for an intoxicating beverage made by the Kalmucks from camels’ or mares’ milk by fermentation and distillation. “Koumiss” is the popular Russian beverage.

Kraal. The Kaffir term for a collection of huts shaped like a beehive and arranged in circular form, a native South African village.

Kremlin. The citadel of Moscow, so called from the Russian krem, a fortress.

Krems White. A pigment extensively produced at Krems in Austria.

Kreuzer. A copper coin of Germany conspicuous for a kreuz, or cross, on its reverse side. Its value was the sixtieth part of a gulden or florin.

Krupp Gun. After its inventor, and made at the famous Krupp Steel works at Essen in Germany.

Kümmel. The German name for a beverage, expressive of “Carraway,” from the seeds of which it is made.

Kummerbund. A Hindoo term for waistband. It became current in England two or three years ago during the excessively hot weather, when waistcoats were discarded, and the trouser tops concealed by a brilliant blue or scarlet sash.

Kurdistan. See “Koordistan.”

Kursaal. A place of entertainment at Southend-on-Sea. The name is German, literally “Cure-hall,” expressive of the public assembly-room at a “Kurhaus,” or hydropathic establishment, corresponding to the pump-room at a west of England health resort.

Kyrle Society. A modern society having for its aims the improvement of the homes of the poorer orders. It originated with the Misses M. and O. Hill in 1875, and was formally inaugurated by Prince Leopold a couple of years later. The title of the society was derived from John Kyrle of Ross, Herefordshire, whose artistic tastes and benevolent disposition contributed to the happiness and well-being of the people on his estate and all the country round about.

 

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