Definify.com

Webster 1828 Edition

K

K

, the eleventh letter of the English Alphabet,is borrowed from the Greeks, being the same character as the Greek kappa, answering to the oriental kaph. It represents a close articulation, formed by pressing the root of the tongue against the upper part of the mouth, with a depression of the lower jaw and opening of the teeth. It is usually denominated a guttural, but is more properly a palatal. Before all the vowels,it has one invariable sound, corresponding with that of c, before a, o, and u, as in keel,
ken.
In monosyllables, it is used after c, as in crack, check, deck, being necessary to exhibit a correct pronunciation in the derivatives, cracked, checked, decked, cracking, for without it, c, before the vowels e and i, would be sounded like s.
Formerly, k was added to c, in certain words of Latin origin, as in musick, publick, republick. But in modern practice, k is very properly omitted, being entirely superfluous, and the more properly, as it is never written in the derivatives, musical, publication, republican. It is retained in traffick, as in monosyllables, on account of the pronunciation of the derivatives, trafficked, trafficking.

K

is silent before n, as in know, knife, knee. As a numeral, K stands for 250; and with a stroke over it, for 250,000. This character was not used by the ancient Romans, and rarely in the later ages of their empire. In the place of k, they used c, as in clino, for Greek. In the Teutonic dialects, this Greek letter is sometimes represented by h. [See H.]

Definition 2024

K

K


K U+004B, K
LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K
← J
[U+004A] 		Basic Latin L →
[U+004C]
K U+212A, K
KELVIN SIGN
← ℩
[U+2129] 		Letterlike Symbols Å →
[U+212B]
See also: k and Appendix:Variations of "k"

Translingual

Letter

K upper case (lower case k)

  1. The eleventh letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

See also

Symbol

K

  1. (chemistry) Symbol for potassium.
  2. Symbol for kelvin, the SI unit of thermodynamic temperature. Specifically (U+212A version)
  3. (biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for lysine.
  4. (geology) Symbol for hydraulic conductivity.
  5. Thousand.
    5k = 5,000
  6. (radio slang) over, waiting for reply

See also

Other representations of K:

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kʰeɪ/
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

Letter

K ‎(upper case, lower case k, plural Ks or K's)

  1. The eleventh letter of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.
See also

Number

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The ordinal number eleventh, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation

K

  1. (education, US) Kindergarten.
    "K-8" is Kindergarten through eighth grade.
  2. (computing, often) Kilo-, 1,024.
  3. (computing) A single character message used as an acknowledgement (ACK), meaning "previous message received and understood."
  4. (Morse code) Go ahead, over: an indication that a message is complete and a reply is awaited.
  5. (baseball) Strikeout, strikeouts.
  6. (chess) King.
  7. (biology) Carrying capacity.
  8. (slang) OK.
  9. (knitting) knit
    • 1855, Godey's Magazine (volume 51, page 71)
      Knit 3, p 1, k 2, purl 1, k 2, m 1, k 2 together, k 1.
Usage notes

On a baseball scorecard, a frontwards K signifies striking out swinging, while a backwards K signifies striking out looking.

Noun

K ‎(plural Ks)

  1. (law, informal) A contract.

American Sign Language

Letter

‎(Stokoe K)

  1. The letter K

Azeri

Letter

K upper case (lower case k)

  1. The sixteenth letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ka/

Letter

K ‎(capital, lowercase k)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Dutch alphabet.

See also

  • Previous letter: J
  • Next letter: L

Esperanto

Letter

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The fifteenth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called ko and written in the Latin script.

See also

Conjunction

K

  1. (text messaging) Abbreviation of kaj ‎(“and”).

Finnish

Letter

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Finnish alphabet, called koo and written in the Latin script.

See also

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kaː/
  • Rhymes: -aː

Letter

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The eleventh letter of the German alphabet.

German Sign Language

Etymology

Related to the French Sign Language sign for "K".

Production

This one-handed GSL sign is produced as follows:

  • Posture the dominant hand in the “K” shape.

Letter

  1. the letter K

Hungarian

Compass rose

Etymology

Abbreviation of kelet ‎(“east”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈkɛlɛt]

Noun

K

  1. E (east)

See also

Ido

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /k/

Letter

K ‎(lower case k)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Italian

Pronunciation

  • (name of letter) IPA(key): /ˈkappa/
  • (phonetic realization) IPA(key): [k]

Letter

K m, f ‎(invariable, lower case k)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet, called cappa or kappa in Italian.

Usage notes

  • The letter K is not considered part of the Italian alphabet and is found only in loanwords.

See also

Latvian

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [k]

Letter

K

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The sixteenth letter of the Latvian alphabet, called kā and written in the Latin script.

See also

Malay

Pronunciation

  • (Name of letter) IPA(key): [ke]
  • (Phoneme, Syllable initial) IPA(key): [k]
  • (Phoneme 1, Syllable final) IPA(key): [ʔ]
  • (Phoneme 2, Syllable final) IPA(key): [k̚]

Letter

K

  1. The eleventh letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Portuguese

Letter

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ka/

Letter

K (capital, lowercase k)

  1. The fourteenth letter of the Romanian alphabet, mostly used in foreign words to represent the phoneme /k/. Preceded by J and followed by L.

Saanich

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /k̠ʼ/

Letter

K

  1. The fourteenth letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /k/

Letter

K ‎(lower case k)

  1. The eighteenth letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Slovene

Letter

K ‎(capital, lowercase k)

  1. The 12th letter of the Slovene alphabet. Preceded by J and followed by L.

Somali

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /k/
  • (letter name): IPA(key): /kæːf/

Letter

K upper case (lower case k)

  1. The sixteenth letter of the Somali alphabet, called kaaf and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

  1. The sixteenth letter of the Somali alphabet, which follows Arabic abjad order. It is preceded by Q and followed by L.

See also

Spanish

Letter

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Spanish alphabet.

Turkish

Letter

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The fourteenth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ke and written in the Latin script.

See also

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Letter

K ‎(upper case, lower case k)

  1. The thirteenth letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called ca and written in the Latin script.

See also

k

k


k U+006B, k
LATIN SMALL LETTER K
← j
[U+006A] 		Basic Latin l →
[U+006C]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "k"

Translingual

Letter

k lower case (upper case K)

  1. The eleventh letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

See also

Other representations of K:

Pronunciation

Symbol

k

  1. (IPA) voiceless velar plosive.
  2. (physics) Boltzmann's constant

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /keɪ/

Letter

k ‎(lower case, upper case K, plural k's)

  1. The eleventh letter of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.
  2. The first letter of callsigns allocated to American broadcast television and radio stations west of the Mississippi river.
See also

Number

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The ordinal number eleventh, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Noun

k ‎(plural ks or k's)

  1. (computing) A kilobyte (more formally KB or kB).
  2. (computing) A kilobit (more formally kb), especially in measuring Internet connection.
  3. (colloquial) kilometre or kilometres.
    We drove 15 ks before we realised Billy wasn't in the back seat.
  4. (colloquial) thousand or thousands.
    Just about 65 k of Jack's full salaray comes from servicing the Baker account.
  5. The SI measurement value of 1,000
Derived terms
  • 56k
  • 401k/401(k)

Abbreviation

k

  1. See K
  2. (colloquial, text messaging, Internet slang) Abbreviation of okay. (Also spelled 'kay.)

Derived terms

Azeri

Letter

k lower case (upper case K)

  1. The sixteenth letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Czech

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *kъ(n).

Pronunciation

  • (before a vowel or a voiceless consonant) IPA(key): [k]
  • (before a voiced consonant) IPA(key): [ɡ]

Preposition

k

  1. to
  2. toward, towards

Synonyms

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aː
  • (letter name): IPA(key): /kaː/

Letter

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

  • Previous letter: j
  • Next letter: l

See also

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Letter

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The fifteenth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called ko and written in the Latin script.

See also

Conjunction

k

  1. Abbreviation of kaj ‎(“and”).

Synonyms

  • &
  • (text messaging) K

Faroese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kʰ/

Letter

k ‎(upper case K)

  1. The thirteenth letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Ido

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /k/

Letter

k ‎(upper case K)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Italian

Letter

k m, f ‎(invariable)

  1. See under K

Latin

Abbreviation

k

  1. Abbreviation of Kaeso.

Letter

k

  1. The letter of the Latin alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

  • K in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
  • k in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Latvian

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [k]

Letter

K

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The sixteenth letter of the Latvian alphabet, called kā and written in the Latin script.

See also

Livonian

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /k/

Letter

k ‎(upper case K)

  1. The sixteenth letter of the Livonian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Lower Sorbian

Alternative forms

  • ku (before ch, g, and k)

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *kъ(n).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [k]

Preposition

k ‎(with dative)

  1. to

Malay

Letter

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Norwegian

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /kɔː/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /k/, /ç/

Letter

k

  1. The eleventh letter of the Norwegian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

  • When written before j, k and j merge into voiceless palatal fricative, the ch sound in German ich.

Portuguese

Letter

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ka/

Letter

k ‎(lowercase, capital K)

  1. The fourteenth letter of the Romanian alphabet, written in the Latin script. Mostly used in foreign words to represent the phoneme /k/. Preceded by j and followed by l.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

See Translingual section.

Alternative forms

  • (uppercase): K

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /k/

Letter

k ‎(Cyrillic spelling к)

  1. The 15th letter of the Serbo-Croatian Latin alphabet (gajica), preceded by j and followed by l.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *kъ(n), from Proto-Indo-European *kom.

Alternative forms

  • ka (see usage notes)

Preposition

k ‎(Cyrillic spelling к)

  1. to
  2. towards
Synonyms
  • ka (see usage notes)
Usage notes

Although both k and ka can be used synonymously, k must take the alternative form ka in the following environment:

  • before /k, g, h/:
    ka gradu - to the city
    ka gore - towards above
    ka hladu - toward the shade

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /k/

Letter

k ‎(upper case K)

  1. The eighteenth letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /k/
  • (letter name) IPA(key): /ka/

Letter

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Spanish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Conjunction

k

  1. (slang) Abbreviation of que.

Pronoun

k

  1. (slang) Abbreviation of que.

Swedish

Pronunciation

Letter name
  • IPA(key): /koː/
Phoneme
  • IPA(key): /k/, /ɕ/

Letter

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The eleventh letter of the Swedish alphabet, called kå and written in the Latin script. Pronounced /k/ in front of a, o, u and å and /ɕ/ in front of e, i, y, ä and ö (some loan words might ignore this rule).

Turkish

Letter

k ‎(lower case, upper case K)

  1. The fourteenth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ke and written in the Latin script.

See also

Turkmen

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /k~q/

Letter

k ‎(upper case K)

  1. The thirteenth letter of the Turkmen alphabet, called ka and written in the Latin script.

See also

Etymology

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