KEY 



412 



KIN 



KER'MES INSECT, the Coccus iliris, Lin., 

 found upon the leaves of a species of oak, 

 the Qitercus ilex, which grows in the south 

 of Europe. This insect is of the same 

 species as the true Mexican cochineal, 

 and before the discovery of America was 

 the most esteemed drug for dyeing scarlet. 

 The name is a corruption of the Arabic 



KER'MES MINERAL, a hydro-sulphur- 

 etted oxide of antimony, so named from 

 its resemblance in colour to the insect of 

 that name. 



KETCH , a description of vessel equipped 

 with two masts, rigged with sails, like 

 the main and mizen mast of a ship. 

 Ketches are generally used as yachts, or 

 as bomb- vessels; hence the latter are 

 called bomb-ketches. 



KETCH'UP. In cookery, a. sauce obtained 

 by sprinkling mushrooms with salt, and 

 letting them stand until great part is re- 

 solved into a brown liquor, which is then 

 boiled up with spices. 



KST'TLE-DRCM, an instrument of mar- 

 tial music composed of two basins of brass 

 or copper round at the bottom, and cov- 

 ered with vellum or goat's-skin. 



KBV'EL. In ships, a piece or frame of 

 timber serving to belay the sheets or 

 great ropes by which the bottoms of the 

 main-sail and fore-sail are extended. 



REVEL-HEADS. In s/jtps, the ends of the 

 top timbers which, rising above the 

 gunwale, serve to belay the ropes or take 

 a round turn to hold on. 



KEY, in a general sense, a fastener ; as, 

 1. In mechanics, a wedge-shaped piece 

 of iron or wood, 

 driven firmly into 

 a mortise, to tight- 

 en together the 

 parts of any fram- 

 ing, as AB. Also 

 an instrument by 

 which the bolt of a 

 lock is pushed, and 

 by which a nut 

 is screwed home 

 pon its bolt, &c. 



2. In music, the key or keynote is the 



fundamental note or tone, to which the 

 whole piece is accommodated, and with 

 which it usually begins and ends. There 

 are two keys, one of the major and one of 

 the minor mode. Key also sometimes de- 

 notes a scale or system of intervals, and 

 the same name is used to designate the 

 little levers or pieces in the forepart of 

 an organ or harpischord, by which the 

 Instrument is fingered, which together 

 are termed the key-board. The small 



r'ng levers attached to flutes, &c., are 

 i called keys. 3. In hydrography, a 



ledge or lay of sunken rock. The name 

 is more especially applied to certain rocks 

 la the West Indies, the tops of which 



rise nearly to the surface of the water ; 



these are collectively called the Keys. 



4. A wharf, more commonly written qvay 

 (q. v.). 



KEY'STOJJE (of an arch). The last stone 

 placed on the top thereof, and which being 

 wedge-shaped, locks all the rest together. 



KHAN , an Asiatic governor. In Persia 

 the word denotes the governor of a pro- 

 vince ; among the Tartars it is equiva- 

 lent to king or prince. The word has 

 been erroneously written Cham, Kan, &c. 



KHELAU'T, the robe of honour with 

 which Asiatic princes confer dignity. 



KHOOT'BA. In Mohammedan rituals, the 

 particular part of the mosque service in 

 which the sovereign of the country is 

 prayed for. 



KHOH, Pers. bald. A prefix to many 

 geographical terms. 



KID'NEYS. In anatomy, these are two 

 in number, one on each side, the right 

 under the liver, the left under the spleen. 

 Their use is to separate the urine from 

 the blood. 



KIE'FEKIL, a species of clay found in a 

 large fissure in grey calcareous earth, 

 near Koniah, in Natolia, and chiefly used 

 in forming the bowls of Turkish tobacco- 

 pipes. It is of a yellowish colour, and 

 when first dug it is of the consistency of 

 wax. Constituents, 50'50 silica, 50 lime, 

 17-25 magnesia, 5 carbonic acid, and 25 

 water. 



KIKEKUNEM'ALO, a pure resin similar tc 

 copal, but of a more beautiful whiteness 

 and transparency ; brought from America. 

 It forms the most beautiful of all var- 

 nishes. 



KII/DERKIN, an old liquid measure 

 equal to 18 gallons beer, and 16 gallons 

 ale, measure. 



KIL'KENNY MARBLE, a species of black 

 marble, full of shells and coralloid bodies 



KIL'LADAR. In the East Indies, the go- 

 vernor of a castle. 



KIL'LAS, a provincial name, adopted by 

 geologists, for an argillaceous schist or 

 slate. The best designation of the killas 

 rock in this situation (Cornwall) is that 

 of a minutely grained and highly indu- 

 rated gneiss that has lost its schistous 

 character. 



KIL'OGRAMME, from %/;u/, 1000, and 

 gramme. A French weight equivalent 

 to 2 Ibs. 3 oz. 5 dr. 13 gr. avoirdupois, or 

 1000 grams. 



KILOM'ETER, from %<*<*/, 1000, and 

 metre. A French measure of length 

 equal to 1000 metres. 



KIXA, kina; Cinchona (q. v.) 



KIND, in technical language, answers 

 to genus. 



KIJO, a sovereign; Sax. cyng, Ger 

 ksnig, Dut. koning, Dan. konge, Wei, cuk 

 Kings are absolute monarchs when they 



