by Chloe Rhodes
floor-length cotton or silk tunic (Persian)
The “kaftan” was an elaborately embroidered and symbolic item of clothing when it was first worn by the fourteenth-century Sultans of the Ottoman Empire; the colors, designs, and trimmings denoted the status of the wearer in strictly hierarchical Ottoman society. They were also popular in Morocco, where they were traditionally a women’s garment and where they were picked up by free spirits on the 1960s “hippie trail.” The kaftan has had a fashion resurgence in the past couple of years as an item of summer beachwear.
As she tried on her twenty-sixth bikini of the day, Katrina clenched her buttocks, sucked in her stomach, and said a prayer of thanks for the return of the kaftan.
Kahuna
priest, expert, or wizard (Hawaiian)
In Hawaiian culture any expert in a particular art, such as boat-building, navigation, or healing, was described as a “kahuna.” Many of these ancient practices began to die out after the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 1820s, but since the 1970s, some practitioners have come forward and reclaimed this ancient title. In English it is used as part of the phrase “the big kahuna”—coined in the 1959 surfing film Gidget and used in the 1999 film The Big Kahuna starring Kevin Spacey—which means “most important person” or “top dog.”
Okay, who’s the big kahuna here? I’ve got a proposition to make.
Kamikaze
divine wind (Japanese)
The word “kamikaze” refers to the legendary typhoon in 1281 that saved Japan from a Mongol navy assault by destroying the invader’s fleet of ships. More than 660 years later the same name was given to the fearless Second World War Japanese fighter pilots who loaded their planes with explosives and deliberately crashed into enemy targets. In 1941 kamikaze pilots destroyed four U.S. Navy battleships during the invasion of Pearl Harbor. Today the term is frequently used both seriously and more lightheartedly to describe behavior or actions so reckless as to be suicidal.
High on drugs, with police in hot pursuit, the carjacker was on a kamikaze mission through the busy streets.
Kaput
broken (German)
The German word “kaputt” means “lost,” “ruined,” or “broken,” but it comes from the comparatively undramatic French phrase “être capot,” which means to score zero at a round of cards. The Germans picked it up as a term for being defeated or ruined. In English, where it began to be used in the late-nineteenth century, it usually refers to objects that are broken. The explosion of the Vanguard TV3 rocket shortly after launch in 1957 led the press to dub it “Kaputnik.”
There was no way Owen could salvage his turbo hair dryer now. It went completely kaput when he tried to blow-dry his dog.
Karaoke
empty orchestra (Japanese)
“Kara” in Japanese means “empty” and “okesutora” means “orchestra.” Japanese drummer Daisuke Inoue was often asked by guests in the coffee shops where he played to provide an instrumental recording of his performance so that they could sing along in their own homes. Inoue saw a gap in the market and manufactured a machine that would play his backing tracks for a hundred yen per song. He then leased his karaoke machines out to restaurants and hotels, and the craze for amateur performances of popular songs took off, soon finding a much-loved place in bars and pubs.
Somehow Joseph’s karaoke performances improved as the night wore on, and by midnight he could sing both Elton John’s and George Michael’s parts in “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”
Karma
act, action, performance (Sanskrit)
Karma is the idea that one’s actions actively influence one’s future in a cycle of cause and effect. Originating in ancient India, the concept is a key feature of many philosophies and generally asserts that an individual’s own actions influence his or her future happiness. Today the idea is framed more by notions of an action bringing good or bad luck than by spiritual goodness.
Okay, five more minutes of complaining, and then we stop—it’s bad karma.
Kayak
hunter’s boat (Inuit)
The Inuits used small one-person paddle boats for hunting in the icy sub-Arctic waters, and it is thought that the word was imported into European languages by Dutch or Danish whalers and then made its way into English by the early eighteenth century. Though no longer made from animal skins, the modern version of the boat is very like the original in shape and is popular with white-water adrenaline-seekers who like to bob about in the rapids in just a thin plastic shell.
“I’m just not ready for a relationship at the moment,” Tina told Ralph at the end of the night. It seemed kinder than telling him she’d rather paddle a kayak over Niagara Falls than endure his halitosis for a moment longer.
Kebab
marinated meat cooked on a skewer (Arabic)
The Arabic word “kabab” is possibly derived through ancient Semitic languages from “kababu,” meaning “to burn or char.” “Döner kebab,” in Turkish, literally means “rotating meat.” “Shish” means “skewer,” hence “shish kebab.” One modern version was invented by Mahmut Aygün (1921-2009), known as the kebab king, who opened a Turkish restaurant in Berlin that served traditional sliced lamb in warm pita bread instead of on a plate. However, he failed to patent his invention. . . . The ancient institution of the British pub and the ancient traditions of delicious Middle Eastern cuisine combine so well that they’re now an indispensable part of our culture.
When the bartender called for last orders and Paul suggested a kebab, Julie realized they would be together always.
Ketchup
fish brine (Malay, from “kichap”)
Yes, Heinz’s most popular condiment began life as a spicy pickled fish sauce in seventeenth-century China. The word is a westernized version of the Malay word “kichap,” which came from the Min Chinese “koechiap,” meaning “fish brine.” The sweet red version we’re familiar with began to take shape when American seamen added tomatoes—excellent for preventing scurvy. In 1876 John Heinz launched his tomato ketchup, and it’s been a staple of British and American diets ever since.
Thanks so much for agreeing to look after him, Sarah. Here’s his toothbrush and his pajamas, oh, and his bottle of ketchup—he won’t eat anything without it.
Khaki
dusty (Hindi)
Until the early nineteenth century the uniform of the British Army featured bright scarlet tunics—a useful means of identifying who was on your side in the confusion of battle. However, it also made soldiers highly visible targets for ambushes and enemy snipers, and heavy casualties in colonial wars led to the introduction of the dun-colored uniforms still worn by soldiers today. The word comes from the Hindi for “dust” or “earth,” with which the troops blended well in their new attire, and can be used to describe the fabric of the uniforms as well as the color.
Neville smoothed down his hair and turned to look in the mirror. He’d always fancied himself as a young Alec Guinness, and in his new khaki shirt, he felt sure he looked just like him.
Kiosk
pavilion, palace (Turkish)
The telephone kiosk sounds like a quintessentially British invention, but the word itself has far more exotic origins. In seventeenth-century Turkey kiosks were porticoed palaces grand enough to attract the attention of Lady Wortley Montagu, wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul, who wrote a letter home about them. In modern English, however, kiosks tend to refer to somewhat less genteel freestanding carts, where hot drinks or cheap goods are sold on the street or in shopping malls.
I can’t possibly drink this coffee, Muriel. You may as well confess now—you got it from that kiosk on the corner, didn’t you?
Kitsch
tat, gaudy merchandise (German)
Language experts believe that this word is derived from the German verb “kitschen,” which means “to scrape mud from the street.” It is believed to have become associated with garish, shoddily produced artwork in late-nineteenth-cent
ury Munich, where cheap, gaudy paintings that appealed to the uncultivated tastes of the newly wealthy Munich middle classes were hot produce. The word signified socially aspirational poor taste, though in the past decade “kitsch” has become fashionable (in a postmodern, ironic sort of way, of course).
How much for that red-and-gold version of the Mona Lisa? It’s so kitsch I just have to have it.
Klutz
blockhead (Yiddish)
This comes from the Yiddish word “klots,” which translates literally as “wooden beam,” and perhaps also from the German word “klotz,” meaning “block” or “lump.” “Klotz” is related to the English words “clot” and “clod,” both of which mean “lump” (of earth in the latter case) and also “stupid person.”
The president blushed as he walked head-on into the glass swinging door. He liked his reputation as a man of the people, but he didn’t want anyone thinking he was a klutz.
Kohl
black powder (Arabic)
Kohl is the name for the dark gray or black powdered mineral that has been used in the Middle East since the Bronze Age, when it amplified the beauty of Egyptian queens and was also used as a protection from eye infections due to its antibacterial properties. It is still used in its original form in South Asia, where it is often put around the eyes of infants to protect them from the evil eye. We now use the word to describe heavily applied chemical-based eyeliner.
Kirsty staggered to the bathroom and braved the mirror—her hair stood on end as if she’d been electrocuted, and last night’s sexy, kohl-ringed eyes now made her look like a despondent panda.
Kosher
suitable and pure (Yiddish)
Food that has been prepared according to Jewish dietary rituals and laws is deemed “kosher,” or “fit to eat.” It came from the Hebrew word “kasher,” meaning “fit and lawful,” around 1851, but since the end of the nineteenth century, the word has been used more generically outside the Jewish community to mean “legitimate.” It is still commonly used with this meaning, especially in the East End of London, where cockneys use it to indicate that something is all aboveboard.
Do you want to come in with me on this horse, then, Stan? It’s kosher, I promise you.
Kowtow
knock the head (Chinese)
The most deeply respectful act of submission in Han Chinese culture was the “kowtow.” The word describes a kneeling bow so deep that the forehead touches the ground. By the 1820s the word had come to mean an obsequious manner of acting, and it is in this sense that the word has been adopted into English. In the less strictly hierarchical West the term is usually used in a negative sense, to describe the actions of someone who is groveling or “sucking up” to his superiors.
Mark Stainton dressed with care on the morning of his interview. He had no intention of kowtowing to the new manager, but he hoped that a clean shirt and tie would create the right impression.
Kudos
glory, renown (Greek)
“Kudos” is a singular noun in Greek, and it entered British English in this form at the end of the eighteenth century, but in the United States the final “s” is mistakenly thought to mean that the word is plural, so the word “kudo” has been adopted as a singular. “Kudos” is found in American English, but only when someone has received more than one accolade. Both spellings are used to denote public respect or acclaim.
By the final leg of the squadron’s assault course, Melanie could barely breathe, let alone run. But she wouldn’t give up; she wanted the kudos of being the first female officer to finish before the sergeant.
L
Lacrosse
game of hooked sticks (French Canadian)
Lacrosse was originally a Native American team game played using curved sticks to scoop and throw the ball and was adopted by French Canadians in the early eighteenth century. They named the game “jeu de la crosse,” literally meaning “game of the hooked stick,” and an abbreviated version of the phrase—lacrosse—found its way into North American English. It is now particularly popular in girls’ schools where the hooked end of the sticks inflicts serious damage to bony shins.
Okay, girls, today we’re going to have a mini lacrosse tournament, but let’s keep it clean, shall we? We don’t want a repeat of “Bloody Thursday.”
Lager
storehouse (German)
The term is short for “Lagerbier”—a“Lager” being the storehouse or cellar in which beer ferments. A vast range of flavors and degrees of dryness exist in Germany, less so elsewhere. In certain regions, like Bavaria, lager is central to traditional culture. Lager is the drink of choice for many youngsters in the UK, including a rowdy subset called “lager-louts.” Older people tend to prefer bitter, less fizzy native beers at cellar temperature. (The American notion of warm English beer is a misconception.) Lager is best enjoyed cold, and in the United States it may be served in a frosted mug.
Roy’s philosophy was mellower, and Melissa prettier, after six pints of lager.
Laissez-faire
let do, leave alone (French)
“Laissez-faire” typically describes an economic or political philosophy that promotes a reduction of government intervention in aspects of society, particularly business and industry. The phrase’s first recorded use was by French minister René de Voyer in his famous outburst, “Laissez faire, morbleu! Laissez faire! ” (“Leave them be, damn it! Leave them be!”) Today the term is used to describe noninterventionist approaches in other settings, such as schools with liberal discipline policies. More generally it is used to describe an individual with a laid-back, or even lazy, attitude.
This is the last straw, Mr. Streathers. The students are running riot, one of them is hot-wiring a teacher’s car as we speak. The time for a laissez-faire approach is well and truly over.
Lebensraum
living space (German)
This comes from the German words “Leben,” meaning “life” and “Raum” meaning “space,” but its meaning is more complex than it seems. “Lebensraum” was the living space that Hitler decided the German people needed to become a truly great race, and it was to acquire this extra space that he invaded his neighboring countries to the east. The term was first used in this sense in 1897 by geographer and ethnographer Friedrich Ratzel, who studied the English and French colonies and thought Germany should have its own. It is usually used today to describe territory that is being fought over.
Sidney looked around his dingy room in despair. In his dreams of the city, he’d been living in luxury, not competing for Lebensraum with a swarm of cockroaches.
Leitmotif
leading theme (German)
This is a musical theme that recurs whenever the composer wants the idea of a certain character, place, or concept to come across. The word stems from “leiten,” “to lead,” and “Motif,” meaning “theme.” The first use of the term dates back to the late 1800s when it was used exclusively in reference to music and became associated with Wagner’s epic operas. It is still used in reference to classical music as well as for modern compositions and film scores. It has also expanded to include recurrent themes in other creative works, such as poetry, dance, painting, and fiction.
The sea was wonderfully warm, but Kerry could only paddle. As soon as the water reached her knees, the shark’s leitmotif from Jaws boomed inside her head and made her run for dry land.
Lingua franca
Frankish language (Italian)
In the medieval Middle East, Europeans were collectively known by Arabic speakers as Franks, and the Frankish language was primarily Italian with a mixture of Persian, French, Greek, and Arabic words. It was a language cobbled together to allow people of different native tongues to communicate. We now use the term to refer to any common language used by speakers of different languages, especially where that language is not the native tongue of either. English, for instance, has become the lingua franca of the international business world.
Have you ever
tried taking minutes of a meeting where half the delegates are Chinese and the other half Icelandic? I’m just praying English is the lingua franca.