kali

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word kali. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word kali, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say kali in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word kali you have here. The definition of the word kali will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofkali, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Appendix:Variations of "kali"

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology 1

Arabic قِلْي (qily). See alkali.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkæli/, /ˈkeɪli/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Noun

kali (uncountable)

  1. The prickly glasswort (Kali turgidum, syn. of Salsola kali).
    • 1765, Temple H. Croker, Thomas Williams, Samuel Clarke, The Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: Volume 2:
      But the kali is principally regarded, on account of its yielding copiously, when burnt, the fixed alkaline salt called soda […]
  2. Alkali, particularly soda ash or potash.

Etymology 2

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Uncertain; see arnis#Name at Wikipedia for more.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɑːli/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Noun

kali (uncountable)

  1. Traditional Philippine stick fighting, a martial art.
    Synonyms: arnis, eskrima

Etymology 3

Uncertain; possibly a reference to the appearance of soda ash produced by burning kali (Etymology 1).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkeɪli/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Noun

kali (uncountable)

  1. A type of British crystalline sweet or candy, similar in appearance to sherbet but made with larger sugar crystals.
    • 1928, Kenrayne (pseudonym), “Toffees and Twists”, in The Homestead (South Africa)‎, page 27:
      [M]any women will be glad to know exactly how to start making sweets so that they will be saleable. [...] Lozenges, comfits, kali, bonbons, etc.
    • 2005, Christopher Upton, Living Back-to-back‎, page 152:
      The stock is supplied by Sela Traditional Sweet Co., based in Thynne Street, West Bromwich, which has been making a vast range of boiled sweets—sarsaparilla tablets, kali, clove balls, lime juice bricks, rosy apples and the rest—since 1882.
    • 2012 June 6, Nigel Slater (@NigelSlater), Twitter‎:
      A positive shower of sherbets. Include fountains, lemons, dibdabs, flying saucers, even jars of Kali.

Anagrams

Albanian

Noun

kali

  1. definite nominative singular and indefinite dative/ablative singular of kalë

Anguthimri

Noun

kali

  1. (Mpakwithi) hole

References

  • Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 186

Betawi

Etymology

From Javanese ꦏꦭꦶ (kali), from Old Javanese kali, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali. Compare to Malay gali ~ kali (“to dug”).

Noun

kali

  1. river

Bikol Central

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali, from Proto-Austronesian *kalih.

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: ka‧li
  • IPA(key): /kaˈli/,

Noun

kalí

  1. canal; ditch; trench; gutter
    Synonym: saruro

Derived terms

Central Huasteca Nahuatl

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

kali

  1. building, house.

Central Nahuatl

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

kali

  1. building, house.

Dupaningan Agta

Noun

kali

  1. kind of large bird

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *kalja. Possibly a pre-Balto-Slavic Indo-European loan, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂al-ew-yo-.

Noun

kali (genitive kalja, partitive kalja)

  1. kvass

Declension

The template Template:et-decl-nali does not use the parameter(s): 
1=kali
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.

Declension of kali (type nali)
singular plural
nominative kali kaljad
genitive kalja kaljade
partitive kalja kaljasid / kalju
illative kaljasse / kalja kaljadesse / kaljusse
inessive kaljas kaljades / kaljus
elative kaljast kaljadest / kaljust
allative kaljale kaljadele / kaljule
adessive kaljal kaljadel / kaljul
ablative kaljalt kaljadelt / kaljult
translative kaljaks kaljadeks / kaljuks
terminative kaljani kaljadeni
essive kaljana kaljadena
abessive kaljata kaljadeta
comitative kaljaga kaljadega

Finnish

Etymology

From German Kali.

Pronunciation

Noun

kali

  1. potassium
  2. potassium oxide

Declension

Inflection of kali (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative kali kalit
genitive kalin kalien
partitive kalia kaleja
illative kaliin kaleihin
singular plural
nominative kali kalit
accusative nom. kali kalit
gen. kalin
genitive kalin kalien
partitive kalia kaleja
inessive kalissa kaleissa
elative kalista kaleista
illative kaliin kaleihin
adessive kalilla kaleilla
ablative kalilta kaleilta
allative kalille kaleille
essive kalina kaleina
translative kaliksi kaleiksi
abessive kalitta kaleitta
instructive — kalein
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of kali (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative kalini kalini
accusative nom. kalini kalini
gen. kalini
genitive kalini kalieni
partitive kaliani kalejani
inessive kalissani kaleissani
elative kalistani kaleistani
illative kaliini kaleihini
adessive kalillani kaleillani
ablative kaliltani kaleiltani
allative kalilleni kaleilleni
essive kalinani kaleinani
translative kalikseni kaleikseni
abessive kalittani kaleittani
instructive — —
comitative — kaleineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative kalisi kalisi
accusative nom. kalisi kalisi
gen. kalisi
genitive kalisi kaliesi
partitive kaliasi kalejasi
inessive kalissasi kaleissasi
elative kalistasi kaleistasi
illative kaliisi kaleihisi
adessive kalillasi kaleillasi
ablative kaliltasi kaleiltasi
allative kalillesi kaleillesi
essive kalinasi kaleinasi
translative kaliksesi kaleiksesi
abessive kalittasi kaleittasi
instructive — —
comitative — kaleinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative kalimme kalimme
accusative nom. kalimme kalimme
gen. kalimme
genitive kalimme kaliemme
partitive kaliamme kalejamme
inessive kalissamme kaleissamme
elative kalistamme kaleistamme
illative kaliimme kaleihimme
adessive kalillamme kaleillamme
ablative kaliltamme kaleiltamme
allative kalillemme kaleillemme
essive kalinamme kaleinamme
translative kaliksemme kaleiksemme
abessive kalittamme kaleittamme
instructive — —
comitative — kaleinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative kalinne kalinne
accusative nom. kalinne kalinne
gen. kalinne
genitive kalinne kalienne
partitive kalianne kalejanne
inessive kalissanne kaleissanne
elative kalistanne kaleistanne
illative kaliinne kaleihinne
adessive kalillanne kaleillanne
ablative kaliltanne kaleiltanne
allative kalillenne kaleillenne
essive kalinanne kaleinanne
translative kaliksenne kaleiksenne
abessive kalittanne kaleittanne
instructive — —
comitative — kaleinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative kalinsa kalinsa
accusative nom. kalinsa kalinsa
gen. kalinsa
genitive kalinsa kaliensa
partitive kaliaan
kaliansa 		kalejaan
kalejansa
inessive kalissaan
kalissansa 		kaleissaan
kaleissansa
elative kalistaan
kalistansa 		kaleistaan
kaleistansa
illative kaliinsa kaleihinsa
adessive kalillaan
kalillansa 		kaleillaan
kaleillansa
ablative kaliltaan
kaliltansa 		kaleiltaan
kaleiltansa
allative kalilleen
kalillensa 		kaleilleen
kaleillensa
essive kalinaan
kalinansa 		kaleinaan
kaleinansa
translative kalikseen
kaliksensa 		kaleikseen
kaleiksensa
abessive kalittaan
kalittansa 		kaleittaan
kaleittansa
instructive — —
comitative — kaleineen
kaleinensa

Derived terms

compounds

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Noun

kali m (plural kalis)

  1. kali (plant)

Further reading

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

Noun

kali

  1. Niʻihau form of kohe (“vagina”)

Ilocano

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali, from Proto-Austronesian *kalih.

Verb

kali (used in the form ikali)

  1. to dig (to move hard-packed earth out of the way)

Indonesian

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Malay kali, from Sanskrit काल (kāla, “time”). Doublet of kala.

Noun

kali (first-person possessive kaliku, second-person possessive kalimu, third-person possessive kalinya)

  1. times (to express the frequency of an action)
    Aku berbelanja ke pasar tiga kali seminggu.
    I shop at the market three times a week.

Preposition

kali

  1. (mathematics) times
    Dua kali tiga sama dengan enam. ― Two times three equals six.

Adverb

kali

  1. Clipping of barangkali (“perhaps, maybe, probably”)
  2. (Medan, slang) very
    Synonyms: amat, banget, sangat, sungguh
Usage notes

When multiplication is not commutative, dikali may be preferred. Otherwise, kali and dikali are interchangable.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Javanese ꦏꦭꦶ (kali), from Old Javanese kali, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali. Compare to Malay gali ~ kali (“to dug”).

Noun

kali (plural kali-kali, first-person possessive kaliku, second-person possessive kalimu, third-person possessive kalinya)

  1. river
    Synonym: sungai
Derived terms

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

kali

  1. catfish
    Synonym: lele

Etymology 4

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

kali

  1. high official in South Sulawesi

Further reading

Javanese

Romanization

kali

  1. Romanization of ꦏꦭꦶ

Latvian

Verb

kali

  1. second-person singular past indicative of kalt

Malay

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayic *kali, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali, from Proto-Austronesian *kalih.

Alternative forms

Verb

kali (used in the form mengali)

  1. Obsolete form of gali.
Synonyms

Etymology 2

kali

From Javanese ꦏꦭꦶ (kali), from Old Javanese kali.

Noun

kali (Jawi spelling کالي, plural kali-kali, informal 1st possessive kaliku, 2nd possessive kalimu, 3rd possessive kalinya)

  1. river (large stream which drains a landmass)
Synonyms

Etymology 3

From Sanskrit काल (kāla, “time”). Doublet of kala.

Noun

kali

  1. times

Verb

kali

  1. to times, to multiply

Further reading

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From Tamil கள்ளி (kaḷḷi).

Noun

kali

  1. cactus

Naga Pidgin

Etymology

Inherited from Assamese কালি (kali).

Adverb

kali

  1. tomorrow

Related terms

Ngiyambaa

Noun

kali

  1. (Waangaybuwan) water
    • 2001, Mood and Modality, →ISBN:
      ɡaliː-ŋinda-ɡila ŋiyanu balu-y-aɡa
      water-CARIT-HYPOTH we+PL+NOM die-CM-IRR
      we'll probably die for lack of water

Alternative forms

Further reading

  • Barry Alpher, Proto-Pama-Nyungan etyma, in Claire Bowern, Harold James Koch, Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method (2004, →ISBN

Old Javanese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali. Compare to Malay gali ~ kali (“to dug”).

Noun

kali

  1. river
    Synonyms: baṅawan, gaṅgā, gĕṅga, kali, kaweri, loh, lwah, nadī, prawāha, saraswat, sarit, sindhu, suṅe, suṅhe, suṅeṅ, suṅhay, suṅi
  2. deep watercourse
  3. river-bed
  4. channel

Descendants

  • Javanese: ꦏꦭꦶ (kali)
    • → Betawi: kali
    • → Indonesian: kali
    • → Malay: kali
  • → Balinese: ᬓᬮᬶ (kali)

Further reading

  • "kali" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Polish

Pronunciation

Verb

kali

  1. third-person singular present of kalić

Romani

Adjective

kali

  1. feminine singular of kalo

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

kali (Cyrillic spelling кали)

  1. inflection of káliti:
    1. third-person singular present
    2. second-person singular imperative

Noun

kali (Cyrillic spelling кали)

  1. nominative/vocative plural of kal

Sundanese

Romanization

kali

  1. Romanization of ᮊᮜᮤ

Swahili

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

-kali (declinable)

  1. sharp
  2. fierce
  3. acidic
  4. harsh, cruel
  5. savage
  6. intense
Declension
Inflected forms of -kali
Noun class singular plural
m-wa class(I/II) mkali
m-mi class(III/IV) mkali mikali
ji-ma class(V/VI) kali makali
ki-vi class(VII/VIII) kikali vikali
n class(IX/X) kali kali
u class(XI) mkali see n(X) or ma(VI) class
pa class(XVI) pakali
ku class(XVII) kukali
mu class(XVIII) mukali

Etymology 2

Swahili Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sw

Borrowed from English kalium.

Noun

kali (n class, plural kali)

  1. potassium
    Synonym: potasiamu

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kaˈliʔ/,
  • Hyphenation: ka‧li

Noun

kalí or kalî (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜎᜒ)

  1. rest; quietude; repose; quietude (usually used in the negative)
Derived terms

Noun

kalí (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜎᜒ) (medicine, archaic)

  1. boneache
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kaˈleʔ/, (colloquial)
  • Hyphenation: ka‧li

Adverb

kalî (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜎᜒ) (Bataan)

  1. I wonder (placed after interrogative pronouns)
    Synonym: kaya

Etymology 3

Possibly a clipping of kalis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkali/,
  • Hyphenation: ka‧li

Noun

kali (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜎᜒ)

  1. kali (Philippine stick fighting)
    Synonyms: arnis, eskrima

Etymology 4

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkali/,
  • Hyphenation: ka‧li

Noun

kali (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜎᜒ)

  1. canal
  2. (obsolete) excavation
  3. (obsolete) asking for the care of others

Further reading

  • “kali”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Tausug

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kali.

Verb

kali (used in the form magkali)

  1. to dig

Vietnamese

Chemical element
K
Previous: agon (Ar)
Next: canxi (Ca)

Etymology

Ultimately from New Latin kalium, with the suffix -um removed as with most chemical elements.

Pronunciation

Noun

kali

  1. potassium
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia