Chapter K to Kay of K by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

K to Kay

K

K To be branded with a K (kalumnia). So, according to the Lex Memmia, false accusers were branded in the forehead.

K The three bad K's. The Greeks so called the Karians, Kretans, and Kilikians. The Romans retained the same expression, though they spelt the three nations with C instead of K.

K.C.B Knight Commander of the Bath.

K.G Knight of the Garter.

K.K is the German Kaiserliche Königliche. The Emperor of Austria is styled K.K. Majestät (His Imperial Royal Majesty).

K.O.B (i.e. the King's Own Borderers). The 25th Foot, so called in 1805.

Ka Me, Ka Thee One good turn deserves another; do me a service, and I will give you a helping hand when you require one. (Latin, Fricantem frica, or Muli mutuo scabunt.)

"Ka me, ka thee, is a proverb all over the world." - Sir W. Scott: Kenilworth, chap. v.

Kaaba (Arabic, kabah, a square house). A shrine of Mecca, said to have been built by Abraham on the spot where Adam first worshipped after his expulsion from Paradise. In the north-east corner is a stone seven inches long, said to be a ruby sent down from heaven. It is now black, from being kissed so often by sinful man. (See Adam's Peak.)

Kabibonokka (North - American Indian). Son of Mudjekeewis, and the Indian Boreas, who dwelt in Wabasso (the North). He paints the autumn leaves scarlet and yellow, sends the snow, binds the rivers in ice, and drives away the seagull, cormorant, and heron. (See Shingebis.)

Kadris Mohammedan dervishes who lacerate themselves with scourges.

Kaffir (Arabic, Kâfir. an infidel). A name given to the Hottentots, who reject the Moslem faith. Kafiristan, in Central Asia, means "the country of the infidels."

"The affinity of the Kafir tribes ... including the Kafirs proper and the people of Congo, is based upon the various idioms spoken by them, the direct representatives of a common, but now extinct, mother tongue. This aggregate of languages is now conveniently known as ... the Bantu linguistic system." - K. Johnston: Africa, p. 447.

Kai-Omurs (the mighty Omurs), surnamed Ghil-shah (earth's king). Son of Dulavëd, founder of the city Balk, and first of the Kai-Omurs or Paishdadian dynasty of Persia (B.C. 940- 920). (See Paishdadian.)

Kai-anians The sixth Persian dynasty. The semi-historic period (B.C. 660-331). So called because they took for their affix the term kai (mighty), called by the Greeks Ku (Kuros), and by the Romans Cy (Cyrus).

Kailyal (2 syl.). The heroine of Southey's Curse of Keháma.

Kain Hens Hens that a tenant pays to his landlord, as a sort of rent in kind (ill-fed hens). (Guy Mannering, v.)

Kaiser The German Emperor. He receives the title from Dalmatia, Croatia, and the line of the Danube, which, by the arrangement of Diocletian, was governed by a prince entitled Caesar of the Holy Roman Empire, as successor of the emperor of the old Roman empire. It was Albert II., Duke of Austria, who added the Holy Roman Empire to the imperial throne in 1438; and William I., king of Prussia, on being crowned German emperor in 1871, took the title.