<B>kudu, </B>noun, pl. <B>-dus</B> or (collectively) <B>-du.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, grayish-brown African antelope with vertical white stripes. It is about four feet to five feet high at the shoulder and is noted for its ability to make great jumps. Also, <B>koodoo.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="kudzu">
<B>kudzu, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a perennial vine of the pea family native to Japan and China. It is cultivated in the Old and New World for its edible roots, as a hay and ensilage feed, and to curb soil erosion. </DL>
<A NAME="kufa">
<B>kufa, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a round Iraqi boat of reed covered with animal skins or pitch. Also, <B>gufa.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="kufic">
<B>Kufic, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> the more formal and angular style of Arabic script, as distinguished from Neskhi. <BR> <I>Ex. Islamic writers used Kufic for inscriptions (Richard Ettinghausen).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> of this style of script; Cufic. </DL>
<A NAME="kufiyah">
<B>kufiyah, </B>noun. =kaffiyeh.</DL>
<A NAME="kuklux">
<B>Ku-Klux</B> or <B>Ku-klux, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=Ku Klux Klan.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a member of either Ku Klux Klan. </DL>
<A NAME="kukluxer">
<B>Ku Kluxer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) a Klansman. </DL>
<A NAME="kukluxklan">
<B>Ku Klux Klan,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. </B>a secret society of white people in the southern United States formed after the Civil War as a social veterans' group to maintain white supremacy. <DD><B> 2. </B>a secret society founded in Georgia in 1915, violently opposed to blacks, Jews, Catholics, and foreigners. <DD><B> 3. </B>a similar secret society active since the 1960's. Also, <B>Klan.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="kukluxklanner">
Ku Klux Klanner, =Klansman.</DL>
<A NAME="kukri">
<B>kukri, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a knife with a curved blade broadest toward the point and usually having the sharp edge on the concave side, used by the Gurkhas of India. </DL>
<A NAME="kukui">
<B>kukui, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the state tree of Hawaii, having long, spreading branches and light green leaves; candlenut. The kukui produces an oil used as fuel and in varnishes. </DL>
<A NAME="kulak">
<B>kulak, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(in the former Soviet Union) a well-to-do peasant, farmer, or trader, especially one who opposed Soviet collectivization. <BR> <I>Ex. The kulaks and nepmen ... were shipped off by the millions to die in Siberian labor camps (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(under the former Soviet government) a peasant who owned and tilled his land for his own profit. </DL>
<A NAME="kulakism">
<B>kulakism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (under the former Soviet government) private ownership and cultivation of land by a peasant for his own profit. </DL>
<A NAME="kultur">
<B>Kultur, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>culture, especially the traditional, unchanging spiritual character of a culture. <BR> <I>Ex. assertions ... of the insuperable excellencies of German Kultur (H. G. Wells).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the characteristic culture of a time or a people. </DL>
<A NAME="kulturkampf">
<B>Kulturkampf, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the conflict between the German government and the Roman Catholic Church (1872-1886) chiefly over the control of education and ecclesiastical appointments. </DL>
<A NAME="kumiss">
<B>kumiss, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> fermented mare's or camel's milk, used as a drink by Asiatic nomads. </DL>
<A NAME="kumite">
<B>kumite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a sparring event or exhibition in karate, in which blows are stopped just short of contact with the opponent's body. <BR> <I>Ex. Free-style combinations of techniques come in kumite, in which two people (karateka) spar with each other (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="kumkum">
<B>kumkum, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a red powder used to make the forehead mark of the Hindu. <DD><B> 2. </B>the mark on the forehead made with this powder. </DL>
<A NAME="kummel">
<B>kummel, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a liqueur flavored especially with caraway seeds, anise, and cumin, first made in Holland in 1575, and since made especially in regions near the Baltic Sea. </DL>
<A NAME="kummerbund">
<B>kummerbund, </B>noun. =cummerbund.</DL>
<A NAME="kumquat">
<B>kumquat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a yellow or orange fruit somewhat like a small orange. It has a sour pulp and a sweet rind, and is used in preserves and candy. <DD><B> 2. </B>the small tree that it grows on, native to China, now grown in Florida and California. It belongs to the rue family. Also, <B>cumquat.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="kumsan">
<B>kumsan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a long cotton shirt reaching to the ankles and gathered at the waist with a wide sash, worn by men in Morocco and other Arab countries. </DL>
<A NAME="kungfu">
<B>kung-fu, </B>noun, or <B>kung fu,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a Chinese method of fighting without weapons by striking blows at vulnerable places of the body. <BR> <I>Ex. "I will make you a master of Chinese kung-fu" promises page one, beside a titillating sketch of a tiny Oriental felling an ox with his left forefinger (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="kunzite">
<B>kunzite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a transparent lavender stone, a variety of spodumene found in California and Madagascar, used as a gem. </DL>
<A NAME="kuomintang">
<B>Kuomintang, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a Chinese nationalist party organized by Sun Yatsen in 1911 and now the dominant party of the Chinese Nationalists. </DL>
<A NAME="kuoyu">
<B>Kuo-yu, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the national language of China, based on the form of Mandarin spoken in Peking. </DL>
<A NAME="kurbash">
<B>kurbash, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a whip, usually of the hide of a hippopotamus or rhinoceros, used for punishment in Turkey and Egypt. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to flog with a kurbash. </DL>
<A NAME="kurchatovium">
<B>kurchatovium, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the Russian name for element 104. </DL>
<A NAME="kurd">
<B>Kurd, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a member of a nomadic and fiercely independent Moslem people living chiefly in the frontier areas of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. </DL>
<A NAME="kurdish">
<B>Kurdish, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the Kurds or their language. <DD><I>noun </I> the language of the Kurds, an Iranian dialect. </DL>
<A NAME="kurdistan">
<B>Kurdistan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several types of rugs woven by the Kurds of Iran or Turkey. </DL>
<A NAME="kurgan">
<B>kurgan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a prehistoric burial mound in Russia or Siberia. </DL>
<A NAME="kuroshio">
<B>Kuroshio, </B>noun. =Japan Current.</DL>
<A NAME="kuroshiwo">
<B>Kuroshiwo, </B>noun. =Kuroshio.</DL>
<A NAME="kurrajong">
<B>kurrajong, </B>noun. =currajong.</DL>
<A NAME="kurta">
<B>kurta, </B>noun. =khurta.</DL>
<A NAME="kurtosis">
<B>kurtosis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Statistics.) the relative degree of flatness or peakedness in the region about the mode of a curve describing a frequency distribution. </DL>
<A NAME="kuru">
<B>kuru, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a fatal disease of the human nervous system similar to scrapie in sheep, occurring especially among members of the Fore tribe of the New Guinea highlands, and characterized by tremors and fits of giggling and other degenerative symptoms; laughing death. <BR> <I>Ex. Kuru ... was found to be caused by a virus that persists in the tissues for long periods of time before symptoms appear (Thomas C. Merigan).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="kurus">
<B>kurus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-rus.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a Turkish unit of money, a coin worth 1/100 of a lira or Turkish pound. </DL>
<A NAME="kush">
<B>Kush, </B>noun. =Cush.</DL>
<A NAME="kushite">
<B>Kushite, </B>noun. =Cushite.</DL>
<A NAME="kushitic">
<B>Kushitic, </B>noun, adjective. =Cushitic.</DL>
<A NAME="kutchin">
<B>Kutchin, </B>noun, pl. <B>-chin</B> or <B>-chins.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a member of a large tribe of American Indians who lived in the Yukon in Canada and were noted for their warlike behavior and caste system. <DD><B> 2. </B>their Athapascan language. </DL>
<A NAME="kutenai">
<B>Kutenai, </B>noun, pl. <B>-nai</B> or <B>-nais.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a member of a tribe of Indians living in parts of British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho. <DD><B> 2. </B>the language of this tribe, perhaps of the Algonkian stock. Also, <B>Kootenay.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="kuvasz">
<B>kuvasz, </B>noun, pl. <B>-vaszok</B> or (collectively) <B>-vasz.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large white dog of a breed, originally from Tibet, but developed in Hungary as a guard and hunting dog for the nobility. It stands 25 or 26 inches high and weighs about 70 pounds. </DL>
<A NAME="kuwaiti">
<B>Kuwaiti, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Kuwait, in Arabia. <DD><I>noun </I> a native or inhabitant of Kuwait. </DL>
<A NAME="kv">
<B>kv.</B> or <B>kv</B> (no period),<DL COMPACT><DD> kilovolt. </DL>
<A NAME="kva">
<B>K.V.A.,</B> <B>k.v.a.,</B> or <B>kva</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> kilovoltampere. </DL>
<A NAME="kvass">
<B>kvass</B> or <B>kvas, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a sour Russian beer, usually made from an infusion of rye or barley flour or bread with malt. Also, <B>quass.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="kveimtest">
<B>Kveim test,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a skin test for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. </DL>
<A NAME="kvetch">
<B>kvetch, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><I>noun </I> a habitual complainer or faultfinder. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to whine, complain, or find fault. </DL>
<A NAME="kw">
<B>kw.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> kilowatt or kilowatts. </DL>
<A NAME="kwa">
<B>Kwa, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large group of West African languages, including Fanti, Twi, Ewe, and Ibo. It is a branch of the Niger-Congo language family. </DL>
<A NAME="kwacha">
<B>kwacha, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cha</B> or <B>-chas.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the unit of money of Malawi, equal to 100 tambala. <DD><B> 2. </B>the unit of money of Zambia, equal to 100 ngwee. </DL>
<A NAME="kwakiutl">
<B>Kwakiutl, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a member of any one of various American Indian tribes of the northern Pacific coast, known for their shamanism and potlatches. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Wakashan language of this tribe. </DL>
<A NAME="kwanza">
<B>kwanza, </B>noun, pl. <B>-zas.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the unit of money of Angola, equal to 100 Iweis. <BR> <I>Ex. The Finance Ministry announced the introduction of a new currency, the kwanza (named after the nation's main river), to replace the Portuguese escudo (Thomas H. Henrikson).</I> </DL>
