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Definition 2024

Kai

Kai

See also: kai, kài, kāi, kǎi, -kai, and ka'i

English

Proper noun

Kai

  1. A male given name of modern usage.
  2. (rare) A female given name of modern usage.

Anagrams

Danish

Proper noun

Kai

  1. A male given name, a less common spelling of Kaj.

References

  • Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 8 117 males with the given name Kai (compared to 31 574 named Kaj) have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1920s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Estonian

Proper noun

Kai

  1. A female given name, short for Kaia, Katariina ( =Catherine).

Faroese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [kai]

Proper noun

Kai m

  1. A male given name, compare Kaj (more common, but Danish spelling)

Usage notes

Patronymics

  • son of Kai: Kaisson
  • daughter Kai: Kaisdóttir

Declension

Singular
Indefinite
Nominative Kai
Accusative Kai
Dative Kai
Genitive Kais

Finnish

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: Kai
  • Rhymes: -ɑi
  • IPA(key): [kɑi]

Proper noun

Kai

  1. A male given name derived from Danish Kaj.

Declension

Inflection of Kai (Kotus type 18/maa, no gradation)
nominative Kai Kait
genitive Kain Kaiden
Kaitten
partitive Kaita Kaita
illative Kaihin Kaihin
singular plural
nominative Kai Kait
accusative nom. Kai Kait
gen. Kain
genitive Kain Kaiden
Kaitten
partitive Kaita Kaita
inessive Kaissa Kaissa
elative Kaista Kaista
illative Kaihin Kaihin
adessive Kailla Kailla
ablative Kailta Kailta
allative Kaille Kaille
essive Kaina Kaina
translative Kaiksi Kaiksi
instructive — Kain
abessive Kaitta Kaitta
comitative — Kaineen

Anagrams

German

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aɪ̯

Etymology 1

From Dutch kaai, from Middle Dutch kaey (whence also through hypercorrection Dutch kade). The word is ultimately Celtic, but it is unsettled whether the Dutch form is borrowed via Old French kay, as traditionally held, or indeed vice versa.

Noun

Kai m ‎(genitive Kais, plural Kais)

  1. quay

Declension

Etymology 2

Taken into regular use in the 20th century; either borrowed from Danish Kaj, or from a West Frisian baby talk form of Kaimbe , Kempe (fighter, warrior), Gerrit ( =Gerard), Cornelis (= Cornelius) and Kleis ( =Nicholas).

Proper noun

Kai m, f ‎(genitive Kais)

  1. A male given name (mostly in Northern Germany)
  2. (rare) A female given name, diminutive of Katharina.
Alternative forms

Hawaiian

Etymology

kai ‎(“sea, sea water”) ; also a short form of compound given names containing this word.

Proper noun

Kai

  1. A male given name.
  2. (less common) A female given name.

References

Norwegian

Proper noun

Kai

  1. A male given name derived from Danish Kaj.

Turkish

Proper noun

Kai

  1. A male given name derived from Kayı.

See also

  • Kailar
  • Kayılar

kai

kai

See also: Kai, kài, kāi, kǎi, -kai, ka'i, και, and καί

English

Noun

kai ‎(uncountable)

  1. (New Zealand, informal) food
    • 1995, Graeme Williams, The soc.culture.new-zealand FAQ
      Actually, I'm not sure I like these new hangis using the foil, it tends to stop the juices getting through to the stones and I reckon the hangi kai is drier to the palate.
    • 2003, "RK", Maori TV (on newsgroup nz.general)
      i.e. they'll spend the first four hours enthusiastic as can be, then get bored, want some kai, go down to the local fish and chip shop & bottle store & spend the rest of the episode telling drunken stories of how they used to steal from the "pakeha that owned the store on the corner" and about days spent down at the social welfare office.
    • 2003, "Carmen", Is there really a censor in NZ?! (on newsgroup nz.general)
      Got to go now and get some kai.

Estonian

Noun

kai ‎(genitive kai, partitive kaid)

  1. quay

Declension

Faroese

Etymology

Borrowing from Danish kaj, from Old French kay, cail (modern French quai), from Gaulish cagiíum ‎(“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom ‎(“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae ‎(“hedge”)).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kʰaiː/
  • Rhymes: -aiː

Noun

kai f (genitive singular kaiar, plural kaiir)

  1. (colloquial) quay

Declension

Declension of kai
f2 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative kai kaiin kaiir kaiirnar
accusative kai kaiina kaiir kaiirnar
dative kai kaiini kaium kaiunum
genitive kaiar kaiarinnar kaia kaianna

Synonyms

Finnish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɑi̯/
  • Rhymes: -ɑi
  • Hyphenation: kai

Adverb

kai

  1. probably
  2. maybe, perhaps

Anagrams

Hausa

Pronoun

kai

  1. you (2nd person singular pronoun)

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian [Term?] (compare Maori tai), from Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Fijian tai), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tasik (compare Chamorro tasi ‎(“sea”), Indonesian tasik ‎(“lake”)).

Noun

kai

  1. sea
    i kai‎ ― towards the sea
    makai‎ ― on the seaside, toward the sea, in the direction of the sea
    o kai‎ ― of the lowland, of the sea, seaward
    nā kānaka o kai‎ ― shore dwellers
  2. salt water
  3. seaside, area near the sea, lowlands
  4. tide, current in the sea
  5. gravy, sauce, dressing, soup, broth

See also

Verb

kai

  1. (stative) to be insipid, brackish, tasteless

Interjection

kai

  1. my, how much!; how very! how terrific!
    kai ka nani!‎ ― how beautiful!
    kai ke kolohe!‎ ― oh, how mischievous!

See also

Japanese

Romanization

kai

  1. rōmaji reading of かい

Karajá

Pronoun

kai

  1. you, second-person singular pronoun

Usage notes

  • This term is used in both women's and men's speech.

Derived terms

References

  • Michael Dunn, Gender determined dialect variation, in The Expression of Gender (edited by Greville G. Corbett)
  • David Lee Fortune, Gramática Karajá: um Estudo Preliminar em Forma Transformacional

Lithuanian

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *koi; compare Old Prussian kāi ‎(“when”), Latvian kâ(i) ‎(“when”), Old Church Slavonic цѣ ‎(cě, “and also, besides”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoi; compare Ancient Greek ποῖ ‎(poî, “whereto”). Perhaps ultimately the locative of Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, kʷis ‎(“question particle”); see kas ‎(“what”). Also, compare with tai ‎(“that”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • (conjunction): IPA(key): /kɐɪˑ/
  • (particle): IPA(key): /kɐɪ/

Conjunction

kaĩ

  1. (in relative clauses) when, while, as

Particle

kai (unstressed)

  1. (in conjunction with interrogative words) some, a certain (suggesting the complement is a known entity, but withheld)
    kai kàs - (a certain) something
    Àš táu kai ką̃ turiù - I have something for you.
    kai kadà - sometimes, in some cases

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

References

  1. ↑ Derksen, Rick (2015) Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, ISBN 978 90 04 27898 1, page 217

Lojban

Cmavo

kai

  1. (sumti tcita: x1-sumti modal of ckaji) characterizing

Rafsi

kai

  1. rafsi of ckaji.

Mandarin

Romanization

kai

  1. Nonstandard spelling of kāi.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of kǎi.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of kài.

Usage notes

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *kai, from Proto-Oceanic [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaən, from Proto-Austronesian *kaən.

Verb

kai ‎(passive form kainga)

  1. to eat (consume)

Noun

kai

  1. food

Related terms

  • kaimoana

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian kēi. Cognates include West Frisian kaai.

Noun

kai m ‎(plural kaier)

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) key

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old French kay, cail (modern French quai), from Gaulish cagiíum ‎(“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom ‎(“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae ‎(“hedge”)).

Noun

kai m, f ‎(definite singular kaia or kaien, indefinite plural kaier, definite plural kaiene)

  1. quay, wharf, dock

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old French kay, cail (modern French quai), from Gaulish cagiíum ‎(“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom ‎(“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae ‎(“hedge”)).

Noun

kai f, m ‎(definite singular kaia or kaien, indefinite plural kaier or kaiar, definite plural kaiene or kaiane)

  1. quay, wharf, dock

Rapa Nui

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *kai, from Proto-Oceanic [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaən, from Proto-Austronesian *kaən.

Verb

kai

  1. to eat (consume)

Noun

kai

  1. food

Derived terms

Adverb

kai

  1. not

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaən, from Proto-Austronesian *kaən.

Verb

kai

  1. (transitive) to eat (consume)

Noun

kai

  1. food

See also

Tongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *kai, from Proto-Oceanic [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaən, from Proto-Austronesian *kaən.

Noun

kai

  1. food

Verb

kai

  1. To eat

Tuvaluan

Adverb

kai

  1. ever

Etymology

Taken into regular use in the 1990s, with earlier popularity peaks in Scandinavia and Germany. The medieval Danish Kaj is possibly of Roman origin, Latinized as Caius, like the rare medieval English male given name Kay. The German Kai may also derive from a West Frisian pet form of Gerard, Cornelius, Nicholas, or Kampe "warrior". In the U.S. Kai has also been explained as Hawaiian kai ‎(“sea”).

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