Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Kind

Kind

(kīnd)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Kinder
(kīnd′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Kindest
.]
[AS.
cynde
,
gecynde
, natural, innate, prop. an old p. p. from the root of E.
kin
. See
Kin
kindred.]
1.
Characteristic of the species; belonging to one’s nature; natural; native.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
It becometh sweeter than it should be, and loseth the
kind
taste.
Holland.
2.
Having feelings befitting our common nature; congenial; sympathetic;
as, a
kind
man; a
kind
heart.
Yet was he
kind
, or if severe in aught,
The love he bore to learning was his fault.
Goldsmith.
3.
Showing tenderness or goodness; disposed to do good and confer happiness; averse to hurting or paining; benevolent; benignant; gracious.
He is
kind
unto the unthankful and to evil.
Luke vi 35.
O cruel Death, to those you take more
kind

Than to the wretched mortals left behind.
Waller.
A fellow feeling makes one wondrous
kind
.
Garrick.
4.
Proceeding from, or characterized by, goodness, gentleness, or benevolence;
as, a
kind
act
.
“Manners so kind, yet stately.”
Tennyson.
Syn. – Benevolent; benign; beneficent; bounteous; gracious; propitious; generous; forbearing; indulgent; tender; humane; compassionate; good; lenient; clement; mild; gentle; bland; obliging; friendly; amicable. See
Obliging
.

Kind

,
Noun.
[OE.
kinde
,
cunde
, AS.
cynd
. See
Kind
,
Adj.
]
1.
Nature; natural instinct or disposition.
[Obs.]
He knew by
kind
and by no other lore.
Chaucer.
Some of you, on pure instinct of nature,
Are led by
kind t'
admire your fellow-creature.
Dryden.
2.
Race; genus; species; generic class;
as, in man
kind
or human
kind
.
“Come of so low a kind.”
Chaucer.
Every
kind
of beasts, and of birds.
James iii.7.
She follows the law of her
kind
.
Wordsworth.
Here to sow the seed of bread,
That man and all the
kinds
be fed.
Emerson.
3.
Sort; type; class; nature; style; character; fashion; manner; variety; description;
as, there are several
kinds
of eloquence, of style, and of music; many
kinds
of government; various
kinds
of soil, etc.
How diversely Love doth his pageants play,
And snows his power in variable
kinds
!
Spenser.
There is one
kind
of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
I Cor. xv. 39.
Diogenes was asked in a
kind
of scorn: What was the matter that philosophers haunted rich men, and not rich men philosophers?
Bacon.
A kind of
,
something belonging to the class of; something like to; – said loosely or slightingly.
In kind
,
in the produce or designated commodity itself, as distinguished from its value in money.
Syn. – Sort; species; type; class; genus; nature; style; character; breed; set.

Kind

,
Verb.
T.
[See
Kin
.]
To beget.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition

Kind

KIND

, n.
1.
Race; genus; generic class; as in mankind or humankind. In technical language, kind answers to genus.
2.
Sort, in a sense more loose than genus; as, there are several kinds of eloquence and of style, many kinds of music, many kinds of government, various kinds of architecture or of painting, various kinds of soil, &c.
3.
Particular nature; as laws most perfect in their kind.
4.
Natural state; produce or commodity, as distinguished from money; as taxes paid in kind.
5.
Nature; natural propensity or determination.
Some of you, on pure instinct of nature,
Are led by kind t' admire your fellow creature.
6.
Manner; way. [Little used.]
7.
Sort. He spoke with a kind of scorn or contempt.

KIND

,
Adj.
1.
Disposed to do good to others, and to make them happy by granting their requests, supplying their wants or assisting them in distress; having tenderness or goodness of nature; benevolent; benignant.
God is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil. Luke 6.
Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted. Eph.4.
2.
Proceeding from tenderness or goodness of heart; benevolent; as a kind act; a kind return of favors.

Definition 2024

Kind

Kind

See also: kind and -kind

German

Alternative forms

  • Kindt (obsolete)

Noun

Kind n ‎(genitive Kindes or Kinds, plural Kinder or (nonstandard) Kinders, diminutive Kindchen, Kindlein, Kindelein or (regional) Kindle, Kindel, Kindl n)

  1. child
  2. offspring (person, with regard to position in a family)
    Er war das zweitgeborene Kind in der Familie.‎
    He was the second-born child in the family.
    Er ist das Kind zweier blinder Eltern.‎
    He is the child of two blind parents.

Usage notes

  • The normal plural is Kinder.
  • The double plural Kinders, or Kinners, is colloquial and chiefly restricted to Low German areas (northern Germany). It is most often heard as a vocative, either referring to an actual group of children or figuratively: Kinders, wie die Zeit vergeht! − “Boy, how time flies!”
  • In German law Kind is usually defined as a person under 14 years of age,[1] while in non-German law Kind can mean a person under 18 years of age.[2] See also Jugendlicher (person under 18 years but at least 14 years old) and Minderjähriger (person under 18 years of age).

Declension

Hyponyms

Derived terms

References

  1. ↑ Gesetz über die Verbreitung jugendgefährdender Schriften und Medieninhalte (GjS or GjSM) from 1985 (with changes from 1994 and 1997), §.1(4); Jugendschutzgesetz (JuSchG) from 2002 (with changes from 2013), §.1(1)
  2. ↑ Übereinkommen über die Rechte des Kindes (VN-Kinderrechtskonvention or UN-Kinderrechtskonvention), Art.1

German Low German

Noun

Kind n ‎(plural Kinner or Kinder or Kinga)

  1. (in most dialects, including Low Prussian) (human) child
  2. (in most dialects, including Low Prussian) offspring (person, with regard to position in a family)

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • dat junge Volk
  • de jungen Lüüd
  • Grootöllern
  • Jöögd
  • Moder
  • Öllern
  • Öllerndeel
  • Oorgrootöllern
  • Uurgrootöllern
  • Vader

Derived terms

  • Adoptivkind
  • Grootkind
  • kindsch
  • Kindjees
  • Kinjees
  • Kindtiet
  • Kinnerbett
  • Kinnerbild
  • Kinnergeschicht
  • Kinnergoorn
  • Kinnerdag
  • Kinnerdisch
  • Kinnerdokter
  • Kinnerdokterin
  • Kinnerdoktersch
  • Kinnerdoktersche
  • Kinnerdörp
  • Kinnerkrankenhuus
  • kinnerlicht
  • Kinnerpopp
  • kinnerriek
  • Kinnerriek
  • Kinnerriemels
  • Kinnerschool
  • Kinnersoldat
  • Kinnerspääl
  • Kinnerspeel
  • Kinnerspill
  • Kinnerstohl
  • Kinnerstuuv
  • Kinnertietschrift
  • Kinnertheater
  • Kinnertheoter
  • Kinnertiet
  • Kinnertocht
  • Kinnerwagen
  • Kinnerwogen
  • Kujees
  • Lüttkind
  • Oorgrootkind
  • Säugkind
  • Schoolkind
  • Slötelkind
  • Söögkind
  • SOS-Kinnerdörp
  • Steefkind
  • Uurgrootkind
  • Wunnerkind

Related terms

kind

kind

See also: Kind and -kind

English

Noun

kind ‎(plural kinds)

  1. A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together.
    What kind of a person are you?‎
    This is a strange kind of tobacco.‎
    • William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
      How diversely Love doth his pageants play, / And shows his power in variable kinds !
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
      “[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
        Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […]”
  2. A makeshift or otherwise atypical specimen.
    The opening served as a kind of window.‎
    • 1884, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter VIII
      I got my traps out of the canoe and made me a nice camp in the thick woods. I made a kind of a tent out of my blankets to put my things under so the rain couldn't get at them.
  3. (archaic) One's inherent nature; character, natural disposition.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter vij, in Le Morte Darthur, book III:
      And whan he cam ageyne he sayd / O my whyte herte / me repenteth that thow art dede / […] / and thy deth shalle be dere bought and I lyue / and anone he wente in to his chamber and armed hym / and came oute fyersly / & there mette he with syr gauayne / why haue ye slayne my houndes said syr gauayn / for they dyd but their kynde
  4. Goods or services used as payment, as e.g. in barter.
    • John Dryden (1631-1700)
      Some of you, on pure instinct of nature, / Are led by kind t'admire your fellow-creature.
  5. Equivalent means used as response to an action.
    I'll pay in kind for his insult.‎
  6. (Christianity) Each of the two elements of the communion service, bread and wine.
Usage notes

In sense “goods or services” or “equivalent means”, used almost exclusively with “in” in expression in kind.

Synonyms

(1) and/or (2)

Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Old English cynde ‎(“innate, natural, native”), ġecynde, from cynd.

Adjective

kind ‎(comparative kinder, superlative kindest)

  1. Having a benevolent, courteous, friendly, generous, gentle, liberal, sympathetic, or warm-hearted nature or disposition, marked by consideration for – and service to – others.
  2. Affectionate.
    a kind man; a kind heart
    • Goldsmith
      Yet was he kind, or if severe in aught, / The love he bore to learning was his fault.
    • Waller
      O cruel Death, to those you take more kind / Than to the wretched mortals left behind.
  3. Favorable.
  4. Mild, gentle, forgiving
    The years have been kind to Richard Gere; he ages well.
  5. Gentle; tractable; easily governed.
    a horse kind in harness
  6. (obsolete) Characteristic of the species; belonging to one's nature; natural; native.
    • c. 1385, William Langland, Piers Plowman, I:
      Ȝet haue I no kynde knowing quod I · ȝet mote ȝe kenne me better.
    • Holland
      It becometh sweeter than it should be, and loseth the kind taste.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)
Synonyms
  • See also Wikisaurus:affectionate
Derived terms
Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: money · door · round · #277: kind · form · hundred · believe

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch kind.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɨnt/

Noun

kind ‎(plural kinders)

  1. child

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse kinn, from Proto-Germanic *kinnuz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénu- ‎(“cheek”). Compare Swedish kind, Norwegian and Icelandic kinn, Low German and German Kinn, Dutch kin, English chin.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ken/, [kʰenˀ]

Noun

kind c (singular definite kinden, plural indefinite kinder)

  1. cheek

Inflection

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɪnt
  • IPA(key): /kɪnt/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch kint, from Old Dutch kint, from Proto-Germanic *kindą ‎(“offspring”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁tóm ‎(“that which is produced, that which is given birth to”), related to *ǵn̥h₁tós ‎(“produced, given birth”), from *ǵenh₁- ‎(“to produce, to give birth”). Cognate with Latin genitus.

Noun

kind n ‎(plural kinderen or kinders, diminutive kindje n or kindertje n or kindeke n)

  1. child, kid, non-adult human
  2. descendant, still a minor or irrespective of age
    In sommige patriarchale tradities blijven kinderen levenslang onvoorwaardelijk onderworpen aan het vaderlijk gezag, zoals aanvankelijk in het Oude Rome, in andere houdt een zoon op kind te zijn door zijn eigen gezin te stichten
    In certain patriarchal traditions, children remain subject to unconditional paternal authority for life, as originally in Ancient Rome, in other ones a son ceases to be a child by founding his own family
  3. (figuratively) product of influence, breeding etc.

Usage notes

  • The normal plural is kinderen. The form kinders is heard colloquially.
  • In compounds, the word can take the form kinder- or kind-. The former is used more often, however.

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse kind, from Proto-Germanic *kinþiz, cognate with Latin gēns ‎(“clan, tribe”). The sense of “sheep” is derived from the compound sauðkind, literally “sheep-kind”.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /cʰɪnt/
  • Rhymes: -ɪnt

Noun

kind f

  1. (obsolete) race, kind, kin
  2. a sheep (especially a ewe)
  3. (dated) used as a term of disparagement for a girl (or woman)

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kinþiz. Compare Latin gēns ‎(“clan, tribe”).

Noun

kind f (genitive kindar, plural kindir or kindr)

  1. race, kind, kin
  2. creature, being

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Icelandic: kind f

References

  • kind in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kindą ‎(“child”).

Noun

kind n

  1. child

Declension

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse kinn, from Proto-Germanic *kinnuz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénu- ‎(“cheek”). Compare Danish kind, Norwegian and Icelandic kinn, German Kinn, Dutch kin, English chin.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɕɪnd/

Noun

kind c

  1. (anatomy) cheek; a part of the face.

Declension

Inflection of kind 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative kind kinden kinder kinderna
Genitive kinds kindens kinders kindernas

Etymology

From Middle High German kint, from Old High German kind, from Proto-Germanic *kindą, *kinþą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‎(“to give birth”), cognate with Dutch kind, Latin gēns and genus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɪnt/
  • Rhymes: -ɪnt

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