kind

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See also: Kind and -kind

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

  • enPR: kīnd, IPA(key): /kaɪnd/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪnd

Etymology 1

From Middle English kynde, kunde, cunde, icunde, from Old English cynd, ġecynd (inherent nature, disposition, kind, gender, generation, race), from Proto-West Germanic *kundi, from Proto-Germanic *kinþiz, related to Proto-Germanic *kunją (race, kin) and Old English cennan (to bear, give birth). Cognate with Old High German gikunt (nature, kind), Icelandic kind (race, species, kind). Doublet of gens, genesis, and jati. See also kin.

Alternative forms

Noun

kind (plural kinds)

  1. A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together.
    What kind of a person are you?
    This is a strange kind of tobacco.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 1:
      How diversely Love doth his pageants play, / And shews his powre in variable kinds !
    • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
      [] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
        Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. []
    • 2022, James Dominic Rooney, Material Objects in Confucian and Aristotelian Metaphysics, page 166:
      That in virtue of which all of his material parts are of the same kind human being is what makes those parts belong to Hook, but Hook is neither identical with his kind (the essence of human being), nor is Hook merely that which makes him a member of the kind or all his parts human (his soul).
  2. A makeshift or otherwise atypical specimen.
    The opening served as a kind of window.
  3. (archaic) One's inherent nature; character, natural disposition.
    • 1533, Thomas More, The second parte of the confutacion of Tyndals answere in whyche is also confuted the chyrche that Tyndale deuyseth:
      Must yt nedes folowe that theyr fayth was chaunged in kynde, bycause yt was augmented in degrees.
    • 1551, Thomas Wilson, The rule of reason, conteinyng the arte of logique:
      The generall woorde, is spoken of many, that differ either in kynd, or els in nombre.
    • 1665, Robert Boyle, Occasional Reflections upon Several Subjects. Whereto is premis'd a Discourse about such kind of thoughts:
      'Tis all one..whether our Afflictions be the same with those of others, in Kind, or not Superiour to them in Degree.
    • 2002, D. DeGrazia, Animal Rights:
      He also argued powerfully, if less influentially, that animals' and humans' capacities differ largely in degree and not in kind.
  4. (archaic) Family, lineage.
    • "She Moved through the Fair" (traditional Irish folk song)
      My young love said to me, My mother won’t mind
      And my father won’t slight you for your lack of kind.
  5. (archaic) Manner.
  6. Goods or services used as payment, as e.g. in barter.
    • 1691, John Dryden, Prologue to King Arthur:
      Some of you, on pure instinct of nature, / Are led by kind t'admire your fellow-creature.
  7. Equivalent means used as response to an action.
    I'll pay in kind for his insult.
  8. (Christianity) Each of the two elements of the communion service, bread and wine.
  9. (type theory) The type of a type constructor or a higher-order type operator.
    The kind of any primitive data type is *, corresponding to a nullary constructor.
Usage notes

In sense “goods or services” or “equivalent means”, used almost exclusively with “in” in expression in kind.

Synonyms
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(1) and/or (2)

Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2

From Middle English kinde, kunde, kende, from Old English cynde, ġecynde (innate, natural, native), from Old English cynd, ġecynd (nature, kind).

Alternative forms

Adjective

kind (comparative kinder, superlative kindest)

  1. Having a benevolent, courteous, friendly, generous, gentle, liberal, sympathetic, or warm-hearted nature or disposition, marked by consideration for – and service to – others.
  2. Affectionate.
    a kind man; a kind heart
  3. Favorable.
  4. Mild, gentle, forgiving
    The years have been kind to Richard Gere; he ages well.
  5. Gentle; tractable; easily governed.
    a horse kind in harness
  6. (obsolete) Characteristic of the species; belonging to one's nature; natural; native.
Synonyms
Derived terms
terms derived from kind (adjective)
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Further reading

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch kind, from Middle Dutch kint, from Old Dutch kint, from Proto-Germanic *kindą (offspring), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁tóm.

Pronunciation

Noun

kind (plural kinders)

  1. child

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse kinn, from Proto-Germanic *kinnuz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénu- (cheek). Compare Swedish kind, Norwegian and Icelandic kinn, Low German and German Kinn, Dutch kin, English chin.

Pronunciation

Noun

kind c (singular definite kinden, plural indefinite kinder)

  1. cheek

Inflection

Dutch

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology

From Middle Dutch kint, from Old Dutch kint, from Proto-West Germanic *kind (offspring), from Proto-Germanic *kindą (offspring), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁tóm (that which is produced, that which is given birth to), related to *ǵn̥h₁tós (produced, given birth), from *ǵenh₁- (to produce, to give birth).

Pronunciation

Noun

kind n (plural kinderen or kinders, diminutive kindje n or kindertje n or kindeken n or kindelijn n)

  1. child, kid, non-adult human
    Lieve kinderen, wij missen jullie. (typical paedagogical window message during COVID-19 measures)
    Dear children, we miss you.
  2. first-degree descendant, still a minor or irrespective of age
    In sommige patriarchale tradities blijven kinderen levenslang onvoorwaardelijk onderworpen aan het vaderlijk gezag, zoals aanvankelijk in het Oude Rome, in andere houdt een zoon op kind te zijn door zijn eigen gezin te stichten
    In certain patriarchal traditions, children remain subject to unconditional paternal authority for life, as originally in Ancient Rome, in other ones a son ceases to be a child by founding his own family
    Synonyms: afstammeling, nakomeling, telg
  3. (figuratively) product of influence, breeding etc.
    Deze kunstwerken zijn een kind van de moderne kunstbeweging.
    These artworks are a product of the modern art movement.

Usage notes

  • The normal plural is kinderen (a double plural combining the endings -er (archaic) and -en, also found in a few other neuter nouns). The form kinders is heard colloquially, often also humorously.
  • In compounds, the word can take the form kinder- or kind- as a tail. The former is used more often, however.
  • The dimunitive kindelijn is now archaic, but can still be found in some fossilized songs and religious texts.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: kind
  • Jersey Dutch: känt
  • Negerhollands: kind, kint, kin, ken
  • Skepi Creole Dutch: kente, kinte

See also

Icelandic

Icelandic Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia is

Etymology

From Old Norse kind, from Proto-Germanic *kinþiz, cognate with Latin gēns (clan, tribe). The sense of “sheep” is derived from the compound sauðkind, literally “sheep-kind”.

Pronunciation

Noun

kind f (genitive singular kindar, nominative plural kindur or (in the meaning "race, kind, kin") kindir)

  1. (obsolete) race, kind, kin
  2. a sheep (especially a ewe)
    Synonyms: rolla, sauðkind
  3. (dated) used as a term of disparagement for a girl (or woman)

Declension

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse kind f, from Proto-Germanic *kinþiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis. Akin to English kind.

Noun

kind m (definite singular kinden, indefinite plural kindar, definite plural kindane)
kind n (definite singular kindet, indefinite plural kind, definite plural kinda)

  1. a child in a cradle

References

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kinþiz. Compare Latin gēns (clan, tribe).

Noun

kind f (genitive kindar, plural kindir or kindr)

  1. race, kind, kin
  2. creature, being

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

References

  • kind”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *kind (child), from Proto-Germanic *kindą, *kinþą, from Pre-Germanic *ǵénh₁tom, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (to bear, give birth).

Noun

kind n

  1. child

Declension



Descendants

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv
en kind

Etymology

From Old Norse kinn, from Proto-Germanic *kinnuz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénu- (cheek). Compare Danish kind, Norwegian and Icelandic kinn, German Kinn, Dutch kin, English chin.

Pronunciation

Noun

kind c

  1. (anatomy) cheek; a part of the face.

Usage notes

False friend with chin, see haka.

Declension

Derived terms

References

Zealandic

Etymology

From Middle Dutch kint.

Noun

kind n (plural kinders)

  1. child