K, 



K 



KA double confonant, and the tenth letter of the 

 9 alphabet. 



This confonant has tlie found ,)f hard c, and is ufed before 

 e and /', where, according to the Enghfli analogy, c would 

 be foft ; as \n the words Lepi, ling : at the end of words it 

 is not much ufed, except after c, and chiefly in monofyllables, 

 as c/oci, bad, S^c. It is now properly omitted in many other 

 words, as muJiL, piibHc, S:c. It is alfo ufed between a vowel 

 and the filent e final, as cloke, brr,h, &c. It likewife ends a 

 word after a diphthong, as look, birak, Sec. In the prefent 

 pronunciation, i is filent before n, as inef, tnell. It is 

 nifvcr doubled ; but e is ufed before it, to Ihortcn the vowel 

 by a double confonant, as c'ichk, p'lekh. 



K is borrowed from the Greek kappa, and was but little 

 ufed among the Latins. Prifcian looked on it as a fupcr- 

 fluous letter, and fays it was never to be ufed e.xcept in 

 words borrowed from the Greek. Daufquius, after Sallus, 

 obferves, that it v.-as unknown to the ancient Romans. 

 Indeed we feldom find it in any Latin authors, excepting 

 in the word kahndu, where it fometimes ftands in lieu of a 

 c. Carthage, however, is frequently fpelt on medals witli 

 a K : s.VLVis avc. et c-ae.s. fel. kaht. and fometimes 

 the letter K alone Hood for Carlhage. — M. Berger has 

 obferved, that a capital K, on the reverfe of the medals of 

 the emperors of Conftantinopie, fignified Konstantixus ; 

 and on the Greek medals he will have it to fignify KOIAH 

 IVPIA, Coelefyria. 



Quintilian tells us, that in his time fome people had a 

 millaken notion, that wherever the letter c and a occurred 

 at the beginning of a word, k ought to be ufed inftead of 

 ther. SeeC. 



Lipfius obferves, that K was a lligma, anciently marked 

 on the foreheads of criminals with a red-hot iron. 



Tlie letter K has various fignifications in old charters and 

 diplomas ; for iuftance KR. Hood for chorus, K.R.C. for 

 cara civi'a.r, KRM. for airmen. KR. AM. N. carus am'uus 

 najler. KS chaos, K.T. cap'ile tonfus, &e. 



The French never ufe the letter i, excepting in a few 

 terms of art, and proper names borrowed from other coun- 

 tries. Ahlancourt, in his dialogue of the letters, brings in k 

 complaining, that he has been often in a fair way to be 

 banifhed out of the French alphabet, and confined to the 

 countries of the North. 



K is alfo a numeral letter, fignifying 250, according to 

 the verfe ; 



" K fjuoque ducentos et quinquaginta tenebit." 



When it had a ftroke at top, K, it Rood for 250,000. 



K , on the French coinage, denotes money coined at Bour- 

 draux. 



The letter K is the initial of no mufical term ; and as mod 

 t)i (tie mulical technicii iire derived from the Italian, in 



K A A 



which language K has no admiffion, the Greek lappa, and 

 the hard c being fupplied by die, this letter will chiefly 

 occur in German words, and proper names. 



KAABA. See Caaba. 



KAADE, in Geography, a town of Ar;.bia Felix, in 

 the province of Yemen ; i 2 miles N. of Taas. 



KAALING, in Ornithology, the name of a fpecies of 

 ftarling, common in China, and not unfrcquent in the Phi- 

 lippine iflands. It is b'ack ; but its eyes, legs, and beak 

 are yellow. It is eafily kept tame, and may fee taught both 

 to fing and talk. It eats rice and infefts in its wild Hate ; 

 but when kept in a cage, will feed very heartily on bread, 

 and all kinds uf fruit. 



K AARTA, in Geography, a confidcrable ftate of Africa, 

 bounded on the N. by Ludamar, on the E. bv Bambarra. 

 on the S, by Fooladoo and Handing, and on liie \V. by 

 Kalfon and Fooladoo ; about 200 miles long and 80 broad. 

 Its capital was formerly a large and populous town, called 

 Kemmoo ; which has been fince deftroyed. The fovereign 

 of Kaarta received Mr. Park with great kindnefs ; and 

 major Houghton was the only European whom he had ever 

 before feen. The language of the country feemed to Mr. 

 Park to be formed of a mixture of the Mandingo and Sera- 

 Woolli; hut the Mandingo was generally underllood. N. lal. 

 13^ loto ij^. W. long. ) 10' to 8' 20'. 



KAAT'.s Kill, or Catskill, a fmall, but thriving 

 place in America, in Green county, and ilate of New York, 

 on a creek of the fame name, \V. of Hudfon's river ; j 

 miles S. of Hudfon city, and 125 N. of New York. In 

 its vicinity are Kaat's Kill mountains, which are the firit 

 part of a chain of mountains, called the Alleghany, .ir 

 Appalachian mountains. The townlhip of this name con- 

 tains 246S inhabitants. 



KAAU-BOERHAAVE, Auraiia.m, in Biography. 

 See Boeiuiaave, Arraiiam Ivaau. 



KAAWLin Geography, -dUiwn of Sweden, in the go- 

 vernment of Kuopio ; 22 miles E.N.E. of Kuopio. 



KAB, in the Jcivijh Antiquity. Sec Cab. 



KABALA, in Geography, a town of Perfla, in the pro- 

 vince of Schirvan ; 36 miles S.S.W. of Scamachie. 



KABANI, in the Oriental Offices, a p.erfon who fupplies 

 the place of what we call the notary public. All obligations 

 that are valid are drawn by him ; and he is likewife the 

 public wcii;h -mailer, and every thing »f confequence ought 

 to be weighed before him. 



KABANSKOI, in Geography, a town of RufTia, in the 

 government of Irkutfk ; 2vS miles W.N.W. of Verchnei- 

 Udinfk. 



KAB.-\RDA, a town of Rnflia, in the governmen; cl' 

 Caucafus ; 32 miles E. of Ekaterinograd. 



KABASSI, a town of Europi-an I'lirkey, in the pio- 

 vince of Albania ; 24 mile? N. of .\|.iiio. 



^ f 2 KABAS.-.oy, 



