English

Noun

kell ‎(plural kells)

1. (obsolete) The caul.
2. (obsolete, figuratively) That which covers or envelops, like a caul; a net; a fold; a film.
   • Beaumont and Fletcher

     I'll have him cut to the kell.

3. (obsolete) The cocoon or chrysalis of an insect.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

Etymology 2

Noun

kell ‎(plural kells)

1. A kiln.

Etymology 3

A modification of kale.

Noun

kell ‎(uncountable)

1. A sort of pottage; kale.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ainsworth to this entry?)

Breton

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɛlː/

Etymology 1

From Latin cōleus ‎(“testicle”) (compare Cornish kell, Welsh caill).

Noun

kell f ‎(plural kelloù, dual divgell)

1. testicle

Etymology 2

From Latin cella (compare Old Irish cell).

Noun

kell f ‎(plural kelloù or killi)

1. cell (of prisoner, monk):

Mutation

Cornish

Pronunciation

• (Revived Middle Cornish) IPA^(key): [kɛlː]
• (Revived Late Cornish) IPA^(key): [kɛlʰ]

Etymology 1

From Latin cōleus ‎(“testicle”) (compare Breton kell, Welsh caill).

Noun

kell f ‎(dual diwgell, plural kellow or kellyow)

1. testicle

Etymology 2

From Latin cella (compare Old Irish cell).

Noun

kell f ‎(plural kellow or kellyow)

1. cell

Mutation

Estonian

Etymology

From Swedish skälla.

Noun

kell ‎(genitive kella, partitive kella)

1. clock
2. bell

Declension

Derived terms

• käekell

Hungarian

Etymology

From Proto-Finno-Ugric *kelke- ‎(“to be necessary, need to, must, be obligatory”). ^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɛlː]

Verb

kell

1. must, need to, have to (used to express need or having to do something)

   Ezt látnod kell.‎ ― You have to / need to / must see it.

2. to be needed

   'Kell nekem az a ház.‎ ― I need that house.

Conjugation

Derived terms

• kellék
• kellemes
• kellemetlen
• kellet
• kelletlen

References

1. ↑ Entry #281 in Uralonet, online Uralic etymological database of the Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
2. ↑ Gábor Zaicz, Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, ISBN 963 7094 01 6

Maltese

Etymology

From kien ‎(“he was”) + l- ‎(“to”)

Verb

kellu ‎(imperfect ikoll)

1. he had (possession; functional past of għand)
2. he had to (obligation (with following verb))

Inflection

Usage notes

• The inflection of this verbal form is akin to a defective verb (in the third person singular) followed by object pronoun affixes.

When referring to possession, the inflected form is followed by a noun:

Kelli ktieb -- I had a book

When meaning "had to", each inflected form is followed by a corresponding conjugated form of the sense verb in the imperfective:

Kellna niġu -- We had to go

Related terms

• ikoll

See also

• għand (possessive)