kittle 
That nowe er deccyved thurgh quayntes of the dcvel, 
and kiUUyniie at thaire llesshe. 
.I/A'. CM. Eton, 10, t. 4. (UaUiweU.) 
It never fails, on drinkin deep, 
To /,'"/' up our notion. Bumg t I Inly Fair. 
He took great liberties with hia Royal Highness pok- 
ing and kittling him in the ribs with his forefinger. 
Halt, The Steam-Boat, p. 250. 
kittle 1 (kit'l), . [< kittlel, v.] Ticklish; diffi- 
cult; nice; not easily managed; trying; vexa- 
tious. [Scotch.] 
Kings are kittle, cattle to shoo behind. Srnii-h jnroixrb. 
Rob Roy, ... a kittle neighbour to the Low Country, 
and particularly obnoxious to his Grace. 
Scott, Hob Roy, xxrii. 
kittle 2 (kit'l), v. i.\ pret. and pp. kittled, ppr. kit- 
tling. [Early mod. E. kytelen ; < ME, kittlen, < 
Norw. kjetla, bring forth young; appar. freq., 
from the noun represented by E. caf 1 and kit*. 
Cf. killing. Cf. also kitten, v. Kindle 1 is a dif- 
ferent verb.] To litter; bring forth kittens. 
[Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
Oossypc, when your catte kyteUeth, I pray you let me 
have a kytlynge. Paityrane. 
kittle 3 (kit'l), . A dialectal or obsolete form 
of kettle*-. 
kittle 4 (kit'l), . An obsolete or dialectal form 
of kiddlei. 
kittling 1 , n. See kMiny. 
kittling- (kit'liug), M. [< ME. kitellynge ; verbal 
n. of kittlel, .] A tickling. [Prov. Eng. and 
Scotch.] 
kittlish (kit'lish), a. [< kittle* + -wfci.] Tick- 
lish. [Scotch.] 
kittly (kit'li), o. [< kittlei + -f.} Easily tick- 
led; hence, susceptible; sensitive. [Scotch.] 
I was not so kittly as she thought, and could thole her 
progs and Jokes with the greatest pleasance and com- 
posure. Hull, The steam-Boat, p. 155. 
kittly-benders (kit'li-ben^derz), n. [Also, cor- 
ruptly, kettle-de-benders; appar. < kittly, equiv. 
to kittlish, ticklish, risky, + bender, referring 
to the pieces of ice yielding under the feet.] 
The sport of running on thin, bending ice. 
[New England.] 
Let us not play at kittly-benden. 
Thoreau, Walden, p. 853. 
You will, with unfaltering step, move quickly over the 
kettte-de benders of this broken essay, and from the thistle 
danger will pluck the three more flowers which I have 
promised. E. E. Bale, How to Do it, lit. 
kittul (ki-t61), n. [Singhalese.] 1. The jaggery- 
palm, Caryota urens. 2. A fiber obtained from 
the leaf -stalks of the jaggery-palm. Itisblackand 
very coarse, and Is employed for making ropes, brushes, 
brooms, basket*, etc. It forms a rope of great strength 
and durability. Also spelled Irittool. 
kitty 1 (kit'l), .; pi. kitties (-iz). [Dim. of kit*, 
or cafl. Cf . kitten, kitting.] A kitten ; a child's 
pet name for a cat. 
kitty 2 (kit'i), .; pi. kitties (-iz). [Var. of fc3.] 
A kit or company. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
kitty 3 (kit'i), n. ; pi. kitties (-iz). [Cf. kift.} A 
large wooden bowl or tankard. 
kitty 4 (kit'i), n. ; pi. kitties (-iz). [Also kittie; 
abbr. of kittiwake.] Same as kittiwake. Also 
called sea-kittie. 
Seeing some kitties Sying about . . . the old k-itiii who 
flew down. Scat Anglian, ill 352. 
kitty 6 (kit'i), n. ; pi. kitties (-iz). [Cf. kidcote.] 
1. A prison or jail: same as kidcote. [Prov. 
Eng. or slang.] 2. A pool into which each 
player in a card-game puts a certain amount 
of his winnings, to be used in meeting expenses, 
as for room-rent, refreshments, etc. 
kitty-coot (kit'i-kot), n. One of several birds 
of tho family Baltida;. (a) The water-rail, Battut aqua- 
time, (b) The gallinule, Gattinula chloropue. () The coot, 
Fulica atra. [Prov. Eng. in all senses.] 
kitty-cornered (kit'i-kdr'nerd), a. A corrup- 
tion of eater-cornered. 
kitty-key (kit'i-ke), . Same as kite-key. 
kittysol (kit'i-sol), n. [< Pg. quitasol, an um- 
brella, < guitar, quit, remit, hinder, + sol, suii : 
see quit and sol. Cf. parasol.'} A Chinese um- 
brella made of bamboo and oiled paper. 
kitty-wren (kit'i-ren), n. The common wren. 
Also cutty-wren. 
kit-with-the-candlestickt (kit' wira-THe-kan'- 
dl-stik), n. Same as kit-of-tlie-candlcstick. 
They have so fraid us with bull-beggars, spirits, witches, 
. . . kit irith the cansKctre, . . . anil such other bugs, that 
we were afraid of our own shadowes. 
Scot, Uiscoverie of Witchcraft (1584). 
kive (kiv), n. Same as keeve. 
kiver 1 (kiv'er), v. and n. An obsolete or dia- 
lectal form of cover 1 . 
kiver 2 (kiv'er), n. 1. Same as keever. 2. A 
measure of corn in Derbyshire, England, equal 
to 12 sheaves. 
3297 
kivi, kivi-kivi (kiv'i, -kiv'i), . Same as kiwi. 
kiwi (ko'wi), . [New Zealand.] Theaptcryx. 
kiwi-kiwi (ke'wi-ke'wi), n. [New Zealand.] 
Same as kitci. 
kix (kiks), n. 1. An obsolete or dialectal form 
of kex. 2. The bullace-plum, Prunux spinosa. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
kixent, a. See kexen. 
ki-yi (Ki'yi'), . i. [Imitative.] To howl or 
yelp, as a dog. Also ki-hi. [Colloq.] 
Hang him [a dog) we did, and he ki-faed with a vigor 
that strikingly increased the moral effect. 
It. B. Stow, Oldtown, p. 832. 
kjerulfine (kya'r$l-fin), . [After Prof. Th. 
Kjerulf (1825-88). a geologist of Christiania, 
Norway.] A kind of wagnerite from Bamle in 
Norway. 
kjoekken-moedding, kjokken-modding, n. 
See kitchen-midden. 
kl-. For old English words so beginning, see d-. 
klang (klang), n. [G., sound, clang: see clang, 
.] In musical acoustics, a tone together with 
all its partial tones or harmonics : opposed to a 
simple or pure tone. The use of the term Is recent 
and limited, and arises from the desire to avoid the am- 
biguity of the English word tone. It is sometimes used for 
quality, or klanjfarbe. Compare dang, 2. 
klangfarbe(klang-far'be),n. [G.: klang,so\md, 
tune ; farbe, color.] In musical acoustics, quality 
or timbre that is, that particular arrange- 
ment and proportion of partial tones in a mu- 
sical tone which give it character and indi- 
viduality ; tone-color. [Of recent and limited 
use.] 
klastic, ". See clastic. 
klavier, . See clavier. 
klecho (kle'cho), n. [E. Ind.] A tree-swift of 
the genus Dendrochelidon, the Indian D. klecho. 
kleenebok (klen'bok), n. [D., < kleen, little, = 
E. clean, + bok = E. ftuct 1 .] The Antilope per- 
pusilla or Cephalophus pygmtea, a pygmy ante- 
lope of South Africa. 
kleg (kleg), n. [Origin obscure ; cf. cte</ 2 .] 1. 
The bib, Oadus luscits. [Scarborough, Eng.] 
2. A large specimen of the common cod. F. 
Day. 
Kleinhovia (klin-ho'vi-ft), n. [NL. (Linnaeus), 
named after M. Kleinhof, director of the Bo- 
tanic Gardens at Batavia, Java.] A genus of 
sterculiaceous trees belonging to the tribe He- 
licterece, characterized by the spreading cells of 
the anthers and the membranaceous inflated 
capsule. It was made the type of the tribe Klrinhoviece 
by Wight and Ann Hi. The only species, K. hospita, is a 
low branching tree, native of the East Indies, with entire 
leaves, and pink flowers in a large terminal panicle, which 
are succeeded by curious, top-shaped, bladdery, five-wing- 
ed fruits. 
Kleinhovieae(klin-ho-vi'e-e),n.B/. [NL.(Wight 
and Arnott, 1834), < Kleinhovia + -cce.~\ A tribe 
of plants embracing only the genus Kleinhovia, 
placed by the authors in the order Buettneria- 
cece, now referred to the Sterculiacece, 
Kleinia (kl!'ni-&), n. [NL., named after Johann 
Conrad Klein, a'German botanist.] 1 . A name 
given to three different genera of composite 
plants, none of which are now accepted. The 
Klfinia of Jussieu is Jaumea of Persoon, that of Jacquin 
is Poruji/ujttiim of Valllant, and that of Hawortu is a sec- 
tion of Senecio. 
2. n. c.] A plant of one of these genera. 
klepnt (kleft), n. [NGr. /c/^rw, var. of iMirnK, 
< Gr. iMirTt/f, a thief, < tMvretv, steal.] A Greek 
or Albanian brigand. As a class, the klephts were 
originally those Greeks who, after the Turkish conquest 
in the fifteenth century, formed armed bands or communi- 
ties in mountain fastnesses, and maintained their inde- 
pendence, defying and plundering the Turks and their ad- 
herents. They gave powerful aid to the patriots in the 
war of independence (1821-8), after which those who kept 
up their organization became mere robbers. They have 
been suppressed in Greece. 
klephtic (klef'tik), o. [< klepM + -ic.] Per- 
taining or relating to the klephts. 
The ballads of KlcpMic exploits in Greece match the 
border songs of Dick of the Law and Kiiimont Willie. 
Encyc. Brit., HI. 284. 
klepsydra, n. See clepsydra. 
kleptomania, kleptomaniac. See cleptomania, 
cleptomaniac. 
kleruch, . See cleruch. 
klick, v. See clicki. 
klicket (klik'et), . If. An obsolete spelling of 
clicket in various senses. 2. In fort., a small 
gate in a palisade through which sallies may be 
made. 
klinker, . See clinker. 
klinket, ". A variant of klicket. 
klinkstone (klingk'ston), n. Same as clinkstone. 
See /ilionnliti '. 
klinometer, . See clinometer. 
knack 
See clinopinacoid. 
Same as clinorhombic. 
See 
klinopinacoid, . 
klinorhombic, ". 
monoc/inir. 
klipdas (klip'das), n. [D.,< klip, cliff (see cli 
+ das (= G. dachs), a badger.] The rock- 
badger : the Dutch colonial name of the Cape 
hyrax, Hyrax capensis. See Hyrax. 
klipspringer (klip'spring'er), n. [8. African 
D., C klip, cliff, -r springer = E. springer.'] A 
of South Africa, 
Oreotragus sal- 
tatrix or Nano- 
tragus oreotra- 
gus, inhabiting 
the rocky fast- 
nesses of the 
Cape, it is agile 
and sure-footed 
like the chamois, 
which it resembles 
inhabit*. It stands 
about 28 inches 
high, and the male 
has small horns 
about 4 inches 
long. The flesh is Klipsprinuer (Oreetragvt taltatrix). 
esteemed or food, 
and the long bristly hah- is much used for stuffing saddles. 
klipsteinite (klip'sti-mt), n. [Named after 
Prof, von Klipstcin of Giessen, Germany.] A 
hydrous silicate of manganese, occurring in 
dark-brown compact forms. 
kloof (k!8f),. [D.: cf.E.cJ<wc3.] Aravinejin 
Cape Colony and the neighboring settlements, 
a gully. 
klopemania (kl6-pe-ma'ni-a), . [< Gr. <cAojri?. 
theft, + yuav(a,maaness.] Cleptomauia. [Rare.] 
klotet, n. See clotel. 
Klugia (klo'ji-ft), w. [NL. (Schlectendal, 1833). 
named after Dr. Fr. Klug, a German zoMogist.] 
A genus of dicotyledonous gamopetalous plants 
of the natural order Gesneracete, tribe Didy- 
mocarpece, characterized by a membranaceons 
5-cleft calyx, cylindraceous corolla-tube, with 
half-closed throat and irregular limb, and 4 
short, perfect stamens. They are herbs creeping at 
the base and at length erect, with broad leaves which are 
very unequal-sided, and loose, terminal, secund racemes 
of large pendulous blue flowers. Four species are known, 
one of which is found in Mexico and Central America, the 
remainder being natives of the East Indies. K. A'otani- 
H mi, of the last-named country, has been In cultivation in 
Knirland as a stove-plant since 1848. 
K. M. An abbreviation of Knight of Malta. 
km. An abbreviation of kilometer. 
kn-. An initial sequence of consonants com- 
mon in English and Middle English, and in the 
form en- in Anglo-Saxon. In Middle English and 
Anglo-Saxon (as still in Dutch, German, and Scandinavian) 
it was distinctly pronounced as written ; but now the k 
is silent. Kti- occurs in native English words, as knave, 
knee, knett, knap, knmi, etc., in other Teutonic words, as 
knicker, and in some other words of foreign origin, as knout. 
In some words, as knar, knarl, kn- alternates with ijn-. 
knabH (nab), v. t. [A var. of knqpl.] To bite ; 
gnaw; nibble. 
I had much rather lie knobbing crusts without fear . . . 
than be mistress of the world with cares. 
Sir R. L'Eitrange. 
knab 2 *, r. t. Another spelling of naftl. 
knabblet (nab'l), v. i. [A var. (= LG. knabbeln, 
flttabbeln, gnaw) of knapple. Cf. knabl, var. of 
fcnopi. Cf. also nibble.] To bite ; nibble. 
Horses will knabble at walls, and rats knaw iron, 
Sir T. Brmme. 
knack (nak), . [< ME. knakken, gnakken, also 
assibilated 'knacchen, gnacchen (see knatch), = 
D. Icnalcken = MLG. knaken = G. knacken = 
Dan. knakke = Sw. knacka = IT. cnagaim = 
Gael, cnac, crack, snap; found in a series of 
words, with several parallel senses, represented 
by knap 1 , clack, clapl, crack, etc., all ult. imita- 
tive of a sharp snapping sound. Cf. knock, knag 1 , 
and knick.~\ I. intrans. 1. To crack; make a 
sharp abrupt noise ; specifically, to gnash the 
teeth; make a champing sound. 
Cast not thy bones vnder the Table, 
Nor none see thou doe knack. 
Babeet Book (E. K. T. 8.), p. 70. 
Friar, I fear 
You do not say your office well a-days ; 
I cannot hear your beads knack. 
Fletcher (and othen\ Bloody Brother, Iv. i 
2. To speak affectedly or mincingly. Hulliirell. 
3. To talk in a lively manner; narrate. 
Courteously I can both counter and knack 
Of Martin Swart and all his merry-men. 
Old Play, quoted in Scott's KenOworth, viii., note. 
n. trans. 1. To cause to sound. 
God sels not that he Is blessid that singns or knacha 
swete notis. WycHf, .Select Works (ed. AruoldX m. 482. 
