Chapter Krems White to Kyrle Society of K by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Krems White to Kyrle Society

Krems White takes its name from Krems in Austria, the city where it is manufactured.

Kreuzer (pron. Kroit-zer). A small copper coin in Southern Germany, once marked with a cross. (German, Kreuz, a cross; Latin, crux).

Kriemhild (2 syl.). A beautiful Burgundian lady, daughter of Dancrat and Uta, and sister of Gunther, Gernot, and Giselher. She first married Siegfried, King of the Netherlanders, and next Etzel, King of the Huns. Hagan, the Dane, slew her first husband, and seized all her treasures; and to revenge these wrongs she invited her brothers and Hagan to visit her in Hungary. In the first part of the Nibelungenlied, Kriemhild brings ruin on herself by a tattling tongue:- (1) She tells Brunehild, Queen of Burgundy, that it is Siegfried who has taken her ring and girdle, which so incenses the queen that she prevails on Hagan to murder the Netherlander, (2) she tells Hagan that the only vulnerable part in Siegfried is between his shoulders, a hint Hagan acts on. In the second part of the great epic she is represented as bent on vengeance, and in executing her purpose, after a most terrible slaughter both of friends and foes, she is killed by Hildebrand. (See Brunehild, Hagan .)

Krishna (the black one). The eighth avâtara or incarnation of Vishnu. Kansa, demon-king of Mathura', having committed great ravages, Brahman complained to Vishnu, and prayed him to relieve the world of its distress; whereupon Vishnu plucked off two hairs, one white and the other black, and promised they should revenge the wrongs of the demon-king. The black hair became Krishna. (Hindu mythology.)

Kriss Kringle A sort of St. Nicholas (q.v.). On Christmas Eve Kriss Kringle, arrayed in a fur cap and strange apparel, goes to the bedroom of all good children, where he finds a stocking or sock hung up in expectation of his visit, in which depository he leaves a present for the young wearer. The word means Christ-child, and the eve is called “Kriss-Kringle Eve.” (See Santa Claus .)

Krita The first of the four Hindu periods contained in the great Yuga, when the genius of Truth and Right, in the form of a bull, stood firm on his four feet, and man gained nothing by iniquity. (See Kaliyuga .)

Krupp Gun (See Gun .)

Krupp Steel Steel from the works of Herr Krupp, Essen, in Prussia.

Ku-Klux-Klan (The). (1864-1876.) A secret society in the Southern States of America against the negro class, to intimidate, flog, mutilate, or murder those who opposed the laws of the society. In Tennessee one murder a day was committed, and if anyone attempted to bring the murderers to justice he was a marked man, and sure to be mutilated or killed. In fact, the Ku-Klux-Klan was formed on the model of the “Molly Maguires” and “Moon-lighters” of Ireland. Between November, 1864, and March, 1865, the number of cases of personal violence was 400 (Greek, kuklos, a circle.)

Kudos Praise, glory. (Greek.)

Kufic Ancient Arabic letters; so called from Kufa, a town in the pashalic of Bagdad, noted for expert copyists of the ancient Arabic MSS.

Kufic Coins Mahometan coins with Kufic or ancient Arabic characters. The first were struck in the eighteenth year of the Hegira (A.D. 638).

Kumara [youthful]. The Hindu war-god, the same as Kârttikeya (q.v.). One of the most celebrated Hindu poems is the legendary history of this god. R. T. H. Griffith has translated seven cantos of it into English verse.

Kurd A native of Kurdistan.

Kursaal Public room at German watering-place for use of visitors.