| kaon |
in physics, a meson that is positive, negative, or neutral and that is the product of a high-energy collision; K meson. |
| kaph |
the name of the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet. |
| kapok |
the silky, fibrous down in the seeds of various tropical trees, used for insulation and padding. |
| Kaposi's sarcoma |
a cancer of connective tissue that is marked by painless external lesions and sometimes affects internal organs, occurring in esp. serious form among people with AIDS. |
| kappa1 |
the name of the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet. |
| kappa2 |
in Japanese mythology, a monkey-sized river imp having fish scales, a turtle's shell, a bird's or monkey's face, and a depression on the top of its head that holds the liquid that endows it with superhuman strength, said to prey on travelers. |
| karakul |
one of an Asian sheep breed having dark, curly wool. [2 definitions] |
| karaoke |
a form of musical entertainment originating in Japan in which prerecorded instrumental music from popular songs is played while a person performs live vocals through a microphone. |
| karat |
a unit of measure for the purity of gold equal to one twenty-fourth part of pure gold. |
| karate |
a method of weaponless self-defense, based on strategically placed hard blows with the elbows or the edges of hands or feet. |
| Karl Marx |
a German political philosopher and economist who founded modern socialism (b.1818--d.1883). |
| karma |
in Hinduism and Buddhism, the principle that one's actions determine one's future in this life or in other incarnations. [3 definitions] |
| karst |
an area where limestone predominates, characterized by ravines, sinks, and caverns caused by underground streams. |
| kart |
a small, lightweight, gas-powered, four-wheeled vehicle used for racing or recreation; go-cart. |
| Kasbah |
see "Casbah." |
| kasha |
cracked and hulled grain, esp. buckwheat, cooked into a mush and served with meat or in soup. |
| Kashmir |
a southwestern Asian region between Afghanistan and Tibet, the object of conflicting territorial claims by India and Pakistan; Jammu and Kashmir. |
| Kashmiri |
a native of Kashmir, or a descendant thereof; Kashmirian. [2 definitions] |
| kashruth |
(Hebrew) the dietary laws for Jews. (See kosher.) |
| Katmandu |
the capital of Nepal. |
| katydid |
any of a variety of large grasshoppers, the males of which produce a characteristic song by rubbing the wings together. |