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Kk 



K, the eleventh letter of the English alpha- 

 bet, derived from the Phoenician kaph, which 

 was in form a K turned backward. The name 

 kaph means hollow of the hand, and it may be 

 that in some way the letter form attempted 

 to represent this, although the resemblance is 



not strong. The Greeks adopted the letter and called it kappa; when they began .to 

 write from left to right instead of from right to left, as did the Phoenicians, they turned 

 it around, giving it practically its present form. In sound, also, it was identical with 

 modern k. The Romans used c to represent the hard, guttural sound, and had in conse- 

 quence no use for k, though they used it in a few foreign words. It was not until the 

 Normans introduced in England the soft sound of c that k came to have any particular 

 importance in the English language, but since that time it has been used in words in 

 which the sound of c might be ambiguous. 



K has only one sound in English, and is silent before n, as in such words as knife. 

 It is frequently used after c at the close of a syllable to assure against mispronunciation, 

 if a vowel follows. Thus lack would be correctly pronounced if the k were omitted, but 

 the participles lacking and lacked would not be. 



KAABA, or CAABA, kah'aba, the most 

 sacred shrine of Mohammedanism, toward 

 which Mussulmans turn their faces in prayer. 

 It is a cube-shaped, flat-roofed building, in the 

 center of the Great Mosque at Mecca. In the 

 northeast corner is set the famous "black 

 stone." This stone is of irregular oval shape, 

 about seven inches in diameter and prob- 

 ably of meteoric origin. When Mohammed 

 returned triumphantly to Mecca, he destroyed 

 all the idols found in the Kaaba, which had 

 fallen into pagan use, but spared the "black 

 stone" which has since been held in extreme 

 veneration by all Mussulmans. 



KABUL, or CABUL, kah'bool, or kabool', 

 an ancient city, the capital and largest city of 

 Afghanistan, situated on 'the Kabul River, 

 about 300 miles northeast of Kandahar. The 

 city is divided and subdivided by walls with 

 narrow gates, and it has an arsenal and a mint. 

 Carpets and shawls are manufactured, and large 

 quantities of fruit are grown in the vicinity. 

 Caravans journeying between Persia and India 

 pass through the city. In it is published the 



Court Gazette, the only newspaper printed in 

 Afghanistan. From Kabul, in 1880, Lord Rob- 

 erts started on his memorable march to Kanda- 

 har. It was taken by the British in 1839 and 

 again in 1879. Population, about 150,000. See 

 AFGHANISTAN, subhead History. 



KADIAK, or KODIAK, kahdyak', the 

 largest of the Alaskan group known as the 

 Kadiak Islands, situated east of the Alaska 

 Peninsula, and separated from it by Shelikof 

 Strait. It has an area of about 36,000 square 

 miles, nearly as great as that of the state of 

 Indiana. Lumber is abundant, the harbors are 

 good and salmon is caught in great quantities. 

 Cattle farming was recently introduced with 

 success by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. The largest species of bear in the 

 world, the Kadiak, is found on this island. 

 Karluk, with 550 inhabitants, is the largest 

 town. See ALASKA. 



KAFFIRS, kaf'erz, meaning unbelievers, is 

 a word applied by the Arabs of Africa to the 

 fighting races with whom they come into con- 

 flict in Southeastern Africa. It is now limited 



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