▪ I. king, n.
(kɪŋ)
Forms: 1 cyning, (-incg), kyning, cining, cyniᵹ, 1–2 cyng, cing, (1 cyncg, ching), 1–6 kyng, 4–6 kynge, (4 kinge, kin, 5 kynnge, kink, keng), 2– king.
[A Com. Teut. word: OE. cyning = OFris. kin-, ken-, koning, OS. kuning (MDu. coninc, Du. koning, MLG. kon(n)ink), OHG. chun-, kuning:—OTeut. *kuningo-z, a derivative of *kunjo-, Goth. kuni, OE. cynn, kin, race, etc. The ON. equivalent was konong-r, -ungr (Sw. konung). Finnish kuningas king, and Lith. kuningas lord, priest, were early adoptions from Teut. In most of the Teut. languages two reduced forms appear: 1) OE. cyniᵹ = OFris. kinig, etc., OS. kunig (MDu. conich), OHG. chun-, kunig (MHG. künic, künec, G. könig, † künig); 2) OE. cyng, cing = MHG. künc (obs. G. küng, kung), ON. kóngr (Sw. kung, Da. konge). Compare OE. peniᵹ (G. pfennig) penny, for pening; ON. pengar pl. (Da. penge) for peningar.
As to the exact relation, in form and sense, of king to kin, views differ. Some take it as a direct derivative, in the sense either of ‘scion of the kin, race, or tribe’, or ‘scion of a (or the) noble kin’, comparing dryhten (:—*druhtino-z) ‘lord’ from dryht (:—*druhti-z) ‘army, folk, people’, dryht-bearn ‘lordly or princely child, prince’, lit. ‘child of the nation’, ON. fylkir ‘king’ from folk, Goth. þiudans ‘king’, from þiuda people, nation. Others refer *kuningo-z immediately to the supposed masc. *kuni-z, preserved in comb. in OHG. chuni-, OE. cyne- (see kine-1), taking it as = ‘son or descendant of one of (noble) birth’. See Hildebrand in Grimm, and Kluge, s.v. Kȯnig; Franck s.v. Koning etc.
(The genitive plural in southern ME. was kingene, -en, -yn.)]
I. 1. a. The usual title of the male sovereign ruler of an independent state, whose position is either purely hereditary, or hereditary under certain legal conditions, or, if elective, is considered to give to the elected the same attributes and rank as those of a (purely or partly) hereditary ruler.
In OE. the title appears first as the name of the chiefs of the various Anglian and Saxon ‘kins’, tribes, or clans, who invaded Britain, and of the petty states founded by them, as well as of the native British chiefs or princes with whom they fought, and of the Danish chiefs who at a later time invaded and occupied parts of the country. Among the Angles and Saxons the kingship was not strictly hereditary, according to later notions; but the cyning was chosen or accepted in each case from a recognized kingly or royal cynn or family (usually tracing its genealogy up to Woden). With the gradual ascendancy and conquests of Wessex in the 9th and 10th c., the king of the West Saxons became the king of the Angelcynn, Angelþéode, or English (Angligenarum, gentis Angligenæ, Anglorum), and the tribal kings came to an end. But there still remained a King of Scotland, and several petty kings in Ireland. In European and other more or less civilized countries, king came to be the title of the ruler of an independent organized state called a kingdom; but in mediæval times, as subsequently in the German Empire, some kings were really or nominally subordinate to the Emperor (as ostensibly representing the Roman Cæsar or Imperator), and a King was held to rank below an Emperor. In reference to ancient times the name is applied, like L. rex, Gr. βασιλεύς, Heb. melek, to the more or less despotic rulers not only of great dominions like Assyria, Persia, Egypt, but of petty states or towns such as Jericho, Ai, Mycenæ, Ithaca, Syracuse, and Rome. It is still applied to the native rulers of petty African states, towns, or tribes, Polynesian islands, and the like.
king designate, king possessive: see the adjs. uncrowned king, one who has the power, though not the rank, of a king.
| a 855 O.E. Chron. an. 577 Her Cuþwine and Ceawlin fuhton wiþ Brettas, and hie .iii. kyningas ofsloᵹon, Coinmail, and Condidan, and Farinmail. 858 Charter in O.E. Texts 438 Se cyning sealde..wullafe fif sulung landes. 875 O.E. Chron., And for Godrum and Oscytel and Anwynd, þa .iii. cyningas, of Hreopedune to Grantebrycge mid micle here, and sæton þær an ᵹear. 971 Blickl. Hom. 69 Hi..hine weorþodon swa ciniᵹe ᵹeriseþ. Ibid. 71 He wæs to cinge onᵹyten & ᵹehered. c 1001 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 1001 Þæs cynincges ᵹerefa. a 1131 O.E. Chron. an. 1123 Se kyng alihte dune of his hors. Ibid. an. 1124 Se king let don þone eorl..on heftnunge. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 115 Ðes kingges rihtwisnesse areteð his kine setle. c 1205 Lay. 24609 Þider weoren icumen seouen kingene sunen. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 834 Neȝ ilc burȝe hadde ise louereding, Sum was king, and sum kumeling. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8179 He smot þoru out wiþ a launce on of hor hexte kinge. a 1300 Cursor M. 3382 Ysmael had wijfs thrin Þat kinges twelue þar come of him. Ibid. 4243 To putifer, þe king stiward. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 263 Wel nygh al þe kyngyn lynage of straunge naciouns come of þis Woden. Ibid. VI. 151 Cedwalla, a stalworþe ȝongelyng of kyngene kynde. c 1400 Rom. Rose 6851 These emperours..Or kyngis, dukis, & lordis grete. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 888 Of the Rodes he was a king son. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. v. (1885) 119 What dishonour is this, and abatynge of the glorie of a kynge. 1535 Coverdale 1 Pet. ii. 17 Feare God. Honoure the kynge [1382 Wyclif Make ȝe the kyng honourable; 1388 onoure ȝe the king]. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. v. 123 There's such Diuinity doth hedge a King. 1605 ― Lear iv. vi. 109, I, euery inch a King, When I do stare, see how the Subiect quakes. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 836 Their Kings were no other then the chiefe in every Cottage, which consisted of one kindred. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia ii. 37 The forme of their [Indians'] Common-wealth is a Monarchicall government, one as Emperour ruleth ouer many Kings or Governours. 1718 Prior Power 275 What is a king?—a man condemn'd to bear The public burden of the nation's care. 1784 Cowper Task v. 188 War's a game, which were their subjects wise, Kings would not play at. 1794 Coleridge Relig. Musings, The great, the rich, the mighty men, The Kings and the chief captains of the world. 1847 Prescott Peru (1850) II. 20 The title of King, by which the earlier Aztec princes are distinguished by Spanish writers, is supplanted by that of Emperor in the later reigns. 1872 E. W. Robertson Hist. Ess. 206 Thus he [Henry I of Germany] was a king, but not an anointed sovereign. |
b. In phrases and proverbs.
king and country: the objects of allegiance for a patriot in a monarchy.
| 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 4 Kynges haue manye eares and manye eyes. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 39 Where as nothing is, the kynge must lose his right. 1591 2nd Pt. Troublesome Raigne K. John (1611) 106 A king is a king though fortune do her worst. 1625 Bacon Ess. xxiii. 135 Be so true to thy Selfe, as thou be not false to Others; Specially to thy King, and Country. 1659 Howell (N.), The king's cheese goes half away in paring, viz., among so many officers. 1694 Motteux Rabelais iv. xvi. (1737) 65 Which made the Dog get on his Legs, pleas'd like a little King. a 1732 [see happy 4]. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. vii. 246 The king can do no wrong... The prerogative of the crown extends not to do any injury: it is created for the benefit of the people, and therefore cannot be exerted to their prejudice. 1773 C. Jennens Saul iii. 204 O Jonathan! how nobly didst thou die, for thy King and Country Slain! 1788 Burns Let. to Mrs. Dunlop 16 Aug., The old Scottish proverb says well, ‘Kings' caff is better than ither folks' corn’. 1803 M. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) 11 Tis pleasant to see how true the Britons are to their King & Country. 1814 Scott Wav. III. v. 60 Colonel Talbot was in every point the English soldier. His whole soul was devoted to the service of his king and country. 1913 Barrie Quality St. i. 15 If..death or glory was the call, you would take the shilling, ma'am... For King and Country. 1933 Times 11 Feb. 8/4 After a debate at the Oxford Union Society on Thursday, a motion ‘that this House will in no circumstances fight for its King and country’ was carried by 275 votes to 153. 1941 ‘G. Orwell’ in Partisan Rev. Mar.–Apr. 109 There does not effectively exist any policy between being patriotic in the ‘King and Country’ style and being pro-Hitler. 1965 A. Nicol Truly Married Woman 48 Kill for food, kill dangerous things, kill for King and country. |
c. the three kings, the Wise Men who came from the East to worship the new-born Christ.
Frequently called
the (three) kings of Cologne, from a prevalent belief that their bodies were preserved at that city, having been removed thither in 1164 from Milan, where they were alleged to have been discovered in 1158.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 45 Þe þre kinges þe comen of estriche. c 1350 Winner & Waster 503 To þe kirke of Colayne þer þe kynges ligges. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 283 Þe þre kynges [L. magi] come to Ierusalem. Ibid. VIII. 43 Rauph bisshop of Coloyne brouȝt þe bodies of þe (þre) kynges of Coloyne out of Melan. c 1400 Three Kings Cologne 2 [Þe] þree holy and worshipfull kyngis of Coleyn: Iaspar, Melchyor, and Balthaser. 1583 Leg. Bp. St. Androis 669 As Culen Kyngis that Christ adorned, Per aliam viam he returned. |
d. the Books of Kings: certain books of the Old Testament which contain the history of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Also
ellipt. Kings.
In the original Hebrew text there was only one book so called, corresponding to 1st and 2nd Kings in the present English Bible. In the Septuagint, followed by the Vulgate, and so by the older English versions, these two are reckoned as the 3rd and 4th, the two books of Samuel being called 1st and 2nd Kings.
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Kings [i.e. 1 Samuel] Prol., In this book of Kingis the first is contened, how Anna..axide of God to haue a sone. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. i. (1885) 110 The viij{supt}{suph} chapiter of the first boke of kynges [1 Sam. viii.]. 1535 Coverdale, The first boke of the kynges, otherwyse called the first boke of Samuel. 1611 Bible, The first Booke of Samuel, otherwise called, The first Booke of the Kings. Ibid., Contents..1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1. Kings, 2. Kings, 1 Chronicles [etc.]. |
2. With additions:
a. As a title, now placed immediately before a personal name, as
King Edward,
† in
OE. (rarely in later use) immediately after it, as
ælfred cyning,
Harold cyng; formerly also
the King, before or after the name.
In
OE. Chron. (Laud
MS.) the annal of 1066 has
se cyng Eadweard,
Harold eorl,
Harold cyng,
Willelm eorl,
þe cyng Willelm.
| O.E. Chron. an. 588 Her ælle cyning forþ ferde. Ibid. 604 East Seaxe..under Sæbrihte cinge and Mellite bisceope. 836 Charter in O.E. Texts 453 Ecᵹhard..ðes friodom waes biᵹeten aet Wiᵹlafe cyninge. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. i, Þa..yfel þe se cyning Ðeodric..dyde. 971 Blickl. Hom. 161 On Herodes daᵹum þæs cyninges. a 1020 in Kemble Cod. Dipl. IV. 9 Cnut cing gret Lyfing arcebisceop. a 1100 O.E. Chron. an. 1066 Þe cyng Willelm ᵹeherde þæt secgen. a 1150 Ibid. an. 1132 Ðis ᵹear com Henri king to þis land. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7574 King Macolom spousede Margarete so; Ac king Willam..Wende aȝen to normandie. c 1400 Three Kings Cologne 12 Kyng Ezechias was syke to þe dethe. Ibid. 14 Þerfore god sent to Ezechias þe kyng. 1535 Coverdale Matt. i. 6 Dauid the kynge begat Salomon. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, ii. v. 66 The lawfull Heire of Edward King, the Third of that Descent. Ibid. 76 Third Sonne To King Edward the Third. a 1635 Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 28 The people hath it to this day in proverb, King Harry loved a man. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 129 ¶10 We fancied ourselves in King Charles the Second's reign. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 663 Two staves, Sung to the praise and glory of King George. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. T. s.v., He is one of king John's men, eight score to the hundred: a saying of a little undersized man. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxii. 16 The two great notes of time [in Domesday] are ‘the time of King Eadward’, and ‘the time when King William came into England’. 1895 Newspr. King Khama's visit to England. |
b. With specification of the people or country over which a king's rule extends, as
King of the Romans,
of Italy. Also
king of kings, a king who has other kings under him, an emperor: often assumed as a title by Eastern monarchs.
king of men, translating
Gr. ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν.
| a 855 O.E. Chron. an. 488 Her æsc feng to rice, and was .xxiiii. wintra Cantwara cyning. Ibid. an. 508 Her Cerdic and Cynric ofsloᵹon ænne Brettisc cyning, þam was nama Natanleod. c 975 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 975 Eadgar Engla cyning ceas him oðer leoht. a 1100 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1079 Melcolm cyng of Scotlande. c 1154 Ibid. an. 1129 Se kyng of France. c 1205 Lay. 13320 Þe king of Norewæiȝe..& þere Densemonne king. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 11945 First com Epistrot þe kyng of Grece..Pandras þe kyng of Egipte. 1382 Wyclif Ezra vii. 12 Artaxerses, king of kingus, to Esdre the prest. ― Dan. ii. 37 Thou art kyng of kyngus, and God of heuen ȝaue to thee kingdam. 1405 Rolls Parlt. III. 605/1 The Wyrshipful Prince Robert the King of Scotland. a 1552 Leland Collect. (1774) II. 547 Edwarde de Bruse,..proclayming hym self King of Kinges yn Ireland. 1647 Ward Simp. Cobler 51 There is a quadrobulary saying, which passes current in the Westerne World, That the Emperour is King of Kings, the Spaniard, King of Men, the French King of Asses, the King of England, King of Devils. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xix. 54 The king of men, Atrides, came the last. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. v. 129 He leads an army against Augeas, king of Elis. 1876 A. Arnold in Contemp. Rev. June 32 The King-of-Kings..signified his willingness. |
c. King Charles, short for
King Charles's Spaniel (see
spaniel):
King Harry, the goldfinch.
| 1808 M. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) iii. 352 One of Princess D's great passions..is that for Dogs of the King Charles's breed. [a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia s.v., King Harry Redcap, is the gold-finch..King Harry Blackcap, is the bird which is commonly called simply the blackcap.] 1848 Zoologist VI. 2186 The goldfinch..is the King Harry from its beautiful crown. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxiv. 589 A King Charles in her lap, a white parasol swaying over her head. 1858 Geo. Eliot Scenes Clerical Life I. 56 A little ‘King Charles’, with a crimson ribbon round his neck..is jumping on the sofa. 1883 Cassell's Nat. Hist. II. 132 The King Charles of the present day is an interesting example of deterioration. |
3. Applied to a woman,
esp. one who rules or bears herself like a king.
rare.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 869 Hennin & Morgan..adde despit þat womman king ssolde alonde beo. 1796 Burke Regic. Peace iv. Wks. IX. 53 The Hungarian Subjects of Maria Theresa..called her..a King... She lived and died a King. 1898 Daily News 30 Aug. 4/5 After the King died his consort determined that her daughter should be a King, not a Queen. |
4. Applied to God or Christ. Freq. in
phr. King of heaven,
King of bliss,
King of glory,
King of kings, etc.
| 871–89 Charter in O.E. Texts 452 ᵹehalde hine heofones cyning in þissum life. 971 Blickl. Hom. 203 To þæm cyninga cyninge, to Criste sylfum. a 1300 Cursor M. 8100 Pine on þat tre thole he sal, Þe king o blis. a 1325 Te Deum in Prose Psalter 192 Þou, Christ, art kynge of glorie [1535 in Goodly Prymer, Thou art the kyng of glory O Christe]. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paul) 966 He..[at the] last Iugment sall bryng nere hand all men befor þe kyng. 1382 Wyclif Rev. xvii. 14 For he is Lord of lordes and kyng of kyngis [1611 For he is Lord of Lords, and King of kings]. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 189 Kyngene Kyng schal destroye þis rewme wiþ double meschef. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 1 He þat was King of heuen and of erthe. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems x. 28 To him that is of kingis King. 1548–58 Bk. Com. Prayer (Prayer Queen's Majesty), O Lord our heuenly father, high and mighty king of kynges, Lorde of lordes, the onely ruler of princes. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 640 Th' all-bounteous King, who showrd With copious hand. 1781 Cowper Truth 179 What purpose has the King of Saints in view? 1871 E. F. Burr Ad Fidem iv. 68 The King whose twin names are Light, and Love. |
5. A title given to certain persons holding a real or pretended supreme authority or rank, or to one who plays the king.
e.g. King Cæsar, a children's game (see
quot. 1849);
King of Heralds, the King Herald or King-of-Arms;
King of Ribalds: see
ribald;
King of the Sacrifices, one of the Roman priests (
rex sacrorum);
esp. the leading person in some game or sport, as
King of the Bean,
King of the Cockneys,
King of May,
King of Misrule: see
bean n., etc.;
King Arthur,
King I am,
King of Cantland,
King of the Castle, certain games (see
quots.) so called from the chief player.
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., King of Heralds..is an Officer at Arms, that hath the preheminence of this Society. 1709 Grecian Plays 43 [The Greeks] had likewise their Basilinda, representing our Questions and Commands, or King I am. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxviii. III. 71 The King of the Sacrifices represented the person of Numa, and of his successors, in the religious functions, which could be performed only by royal hands. 1808–25 Jamieson, King of Cantland, a game of children in which one of a company being chosen King o' Cantland, and two goals appointed [etc.]. 1847–52 Halliwell, King-Arthur, a game used at sea, when near the line, or in a hot latitude. It is performed thus [description follows]. 1849 Boy's Own Bk. 36 King Cæsar,..the ground is divided into three parts... The spaces at the end, called bases, being much smaller than the middle one. The..players..all go into one of the bases, except ‘the King’..; he places himself..between the two bases, and the others run from base to base... Should the King..succeed in intercepting one of them, he claps him on the head with his hand three times, and each time repeats the words, ‘I crown thee, King Cæsar’... This game is sometimes called ‘Rushing Bases’. 1890 J.G. Wood's Boy's Mod. Playmate 147 King of the Castle... One player stands upon a mound, crying, ‘I am king of the castle’, and the others try to pull him down. 1969 I. & P. Opie Children's Games iii. 140 The Victorian schoolboys' excuse for a rough-house called ‘King Caesar’ or ‘Rushing Bases’. |
6. a. One who in a certain sphere or class has supremacy or pre-eminence compared to that of a king. Since the 19th
cent. often applied to great merchants, manufacturers, etc., with defining word prefixed, as
alkali-,
fur-,
railway-king.
| 1382 Wyclif Job xli. 25 [34] He [Leviathan] ys king vpon alle the sones of pride. 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 326 Confess thy crime, hald Kenydy the king. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 12 Distroy the Deuill..Quhilk of this warld is Prince and King. 1592 Davies Immort. Soul xxxii. lx, Why made he Man, of other Creatures, King? 1623 H. Holland Lines Shaks., Those bayes, Which crown'd him Poet first, then Poets King. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems 46 What those kings of numbers did conceive By muses nine. 1789 Burns Willie brew'd iv, Wha first beside his chair shall fa' He is the King among us three. 1792 ― Auld Rob Morris i, He's the King o' gude fellows and wale of auld men. 1806 Guide to Watering Places 14 Richard Nash, the first King of Bath, was a native of Swansea. 1821 Shelley Adonais xlviii, The kings of thought Who waged contention with their time's decay. 1846 J. G. Saxe Progress (1847) 28 How would she [sc. the Muse] strive, in fitting verse, to sing The wondrous Progress of the Printing King! 1847 E. D. Bancroft Lett. from England (1904) 113 We both went to a concert at Mr. Hudson's, the great railway ‘king’, who has just made an immense fortune from railway stocks. 1884 S. E. Dawson Handbk. Dom. Canada 154 Here the fur-kings of the North-West lived and spent their profits in generous hospitality. 1894 Outing (U.S.) XXIII. 380/2 Relics of the palmy days of the old sugar kings of Jamaica. 1898 Daily News 23 Mar. 6/3 Mr. Audubon, you are the king of ornithological painters. 1919 F. Hurst Humoresque 194 You've never met Mr. Feist, have you, the film king? You two ought to get acquainted—one makes the films and the other makes them famous. 1927 Wodehouse Small Bachelor ii. 25 She had also been the relict of the late P. Homer Horlick, the Cheese King, and he had left her several million dollars. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 83 He began to tell me what the sheep kings had to put up with. Ibid. 123 The young sheep king. |
b. Applied to things personified as
King Caucus,
King Cotton.
king of day, the sun.
king of terrors, death (see
terror).
King Willow, the game of cricket.
Cf. quot. 1876
s.v. willow n. 5.
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iii. 27 Two such opposed Kings encampe them still, In man as well as Hearbes, grace and rude will. c 1820 Campbell Last Man 36 Yet mourn I not thy parted ray, Thou dim discrowned king of day. 1868 Brewer Dict. Phrase & Fable (ed. 3), King Cotton... The expression was first used by James H. Hammond in the senate of the United States 1858. 1881 tr. von Holst's Const. Hist. U.S. 1 The undemocratic ‘King Caucus’ was already so thoroughly hated that..his days were numbered. 1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England xvii. 285 The evening papers were already beginning to talk of the Advent of King Willow. 1936 S. R. Jones Eng. Village Homes iii. 36 Football thrives lustily, and King Willow reigns on the old turf of the greens in summer. 1972 P. Dickinson Lizard in Cup vi. 92 Loyalty to..the imagined spirit of King Willow. |
7. fig. Something to which there is attributed supremacy or chief excellency in its class.
a. Of animals.
king of beasts, the lion;
king of birds, the eagle. Sometimes forming part of an ordinary or popular name;
e.g. king of six, the male of certain polygamous South African birds.
king of the ant-eaters, a South American bird (
Grallaria rex).
king of the breams, the Spanish Bream (
Pagellus erythrinus).
king of the herrings, (
a) the Northern Chimæra (
C. monstrosa); (
b) the opah (
Lampris guttata); (
c) the oarfish (
Regalecus glesne); (
d) the allice shad.
king of the mullets, (
a) a Mediterranean fish (
mullus imberbis); (
b) the common bass.
king of the salmon, a deep-sea fish of the Pacific coast of America,
Trachypterus altivelis.
king of the sea-breams, the becker or braize.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 74 As leon is the king of bestes. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. lxiv. (MS. Bodl.), Hatte leo kinge for he is kinge and prince of al oþer bestes. 1481 Caxton Reynard, Table, Hoow the kynge of alle bestes the lyon helde his court. 1486 Bk. St. Albans E iij, Now for to speke of the hare..That beest kyng shall be calde of all venery. 1503 Dunbar Thistle & Rose 103 The King of Beistis mak I the [the lion]. Ibid. 120 Syne crownit scho the Egle King of Fowlis. 1602 Carew Cornwall (1811) 94 Lastly the salmon king of fish, Fills with good cheer the Christmas dish. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., King of the mullets, see Mullus imberbis. 1836 King of the Herrings [see herring 1 c]. 1880 Günther Fishes 522 Regalecus..the largest of all Ribbon-fishes..frequently called ‘Kings of the herrings’, from the erroneous notion that they accompany the shoals of herrings. 1885 Stand. Nat. Hist. III. 207 The popular name of opah, and king of the herrings. 1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 260 King of six, a King Williamstown name for the Rooibekje... The reference is to the number of females by which the male is generally accompanied during the breeding season. 1931 R. C. Bolster Land & Sea Birds S.-W. Cape 133 Of the two Bishop Birds, the Black and Yellow one is said to be polygamous, whence the name ‘King of Six’ in the vicinity of Cape Town. |
b. Of trees, plants, or fruits.
| 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. 311 The Plantain I take to be the King of all Fruit, not except the Coco it self. 1786 Burns Scotch Drink iii, John Barleycorn, Thou King o' grain. 1791 Cowper Yardley Oak 50 Time made thee what thou wast, king of the woods. 1842 Twamley in Visitor 131/1 The pine is king of Scottish woods. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Agric. I. 59 Winter Sauce Apples..King of the pippins. |
c. Of things, places, etc.
| 1608 Shakes. Per. i. i. 13 Her thoughts the king Of every virtue gives renown to men! 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 273 Thames, The king of dykes. 1796 E. Hamilton Lett. Hindoo Rajah I. 185 The King of worshipped places, the renowned Allahabad. 1833 Marryat P. Simple xiv, He taught me a fisherman's bend, which he pronounced to be the king of all knots. 1881 C. A. Edwards Organs 3 The organ..has..earned the title of the ‘King of Instruments’. |
8. † a. Applied by earlier writers, after Latin, to the queen bee.
Obs. b. A fully developed male termite or white ant.
| a. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶394 Thise flyes, that men clepeth bees, whan they maken hir kyng they chesen oon that hath no prikke, wherwith he may stynge. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme i. x. 48 He shall make cleane their hiues verie carefully and kill their kings. 1642 Prynne Sov. Antid. i. 4 Though all other Bees have stings,..yet the King among the bees hath no sting at all, for nature would not have him to be cruell. 1710 Brit. Apollo III. No. 87. 2/1 The Kings are bred of the Brains. |
| b. 1895 Sharp Insects i. in Cambridge Nat. Hist. V. 361 Termites live in communities..The king and queen may be recognised by the stumps of their cast wings. |
9. In games.
a. In chess: The piece which each player must protect against the moves made by the other, so as to prevent it from being finally checkmated.
King's Gambit: see
gambit.
King's Bishop,
King's Knight,
King's Rook, the pieces placed on the king's side of the board at the commencement of the game.
King's Pawn, the pawn immediately before the king at the commencement of the game.
king's side, the half of the board on which both kings stand at the commencement of the game.
| 1411–12 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2120 Somwhat I knowe a kynges draught. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle i. xxii. (Caxton 1483), Whan that a pown seyith to the kyng, chekmate. 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. ii. K ij, Al these yssues hath the kyng out of his propre place whan he begynneth to meue. 1562 Rowbotham Cheasts A viij, Yf checke be geuen to the Kyng, the Paune can not marche asyde..for to couer his Kynge. 1645 Z. Boyd Holy Songs in Zion's Flowers (1855) App. 13/1 Kings, Pawnes, Knights, Aphens, heere and there stand, yet there wood is one. 1735 J. Bertin Chess, The King's Pawn..must move before the Knights. 1841 G. Walker New Treat. Chess 2 The pieces on the King's side of the line are called..King's Bishop, King's Knight, and King's Rook. 1882 Meyer Guide to Chess 21 The King is never taken; all the other pieces can be. |
b. In ordinary playing-cards: One card in each suit, bearing the representation of a king, and usually ranking next to the ace.
† Hence (with humorous allusion to 1 d)
the books (or history) of the four kings, a pack of playing cards (
obs.).
| 1563 Foxe A. & M. 1298 Thoughe it were the Kyng of Clubbes. c 1592 Marlowe Massacre Paris i. ii, Since thou hast all the cards within thy hands..thou deal thyself a king. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. i. 44 Whiles he [Warwick] thought to steale the single Ten, The King was slyly finger'd from the Deck. 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. xxii, After supper were brought in..the books of the foure Kings. 1760 Foote Minor i. (1781) 31 Come, shall we have a dip in the history of the Four Kings this morning? 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxiv, Caned..for carrying four kings in his hat besides those which he used in playing. 1879 ‘Cavendish’ Card Ess., etc. 231 He can hardly think that ace and king are held up against you. |
c. In draughts: A ‘crowned’ piece (see
quot.).
| 1820 Hoyle's Games 313 When any man gets onwards to the last row on the end of the board opposite to that from whence his colour started, then he becomes a king and is crowned by placing one of the captives upon him, and he thereby obtains the privilege of moving and taking either backwards or forwards in any angular direction. 1899 N. & Q. 11 Feb. 115/1. |
† d. In billiards. (See
quots.)
Obs.| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 262/2 The King is the little Pin or Peg standing at one end of the Table, which is to be of Ivory. 1873 Cavendish & B. Billiards 4 The peculiarity of the game at this time consisted in the use of a small arch of ivory called the ‘port’, which was placed where the pyramid spot now stands, and of an ivory peg or king, placed on a corresponding spot at the other end of the table. |
10. Technical uses.
a. pl. A trade-name for one of the classes into which fullers' teasels are sorted (see
quot. 1836).
b. A kind of salmon-fly for angling.
| 1798 Billingsley Somerset 111 Teasels are sorted into kings, middlings, and scrubs. 1830 J. L. Knapp Jrnl. Nat. 43–4 The terminating heads are ready first, and called ‘kings’: they are larger and coarser than the others and fitted only for the strongest kinds of cloth. 1867 F. Francis Angling x. (1880) 396, I would prefer Purple and Green Kings. |
11. ellipt. a. A toast in which the king's health is drunk.
b. A king-post.
| 1763 Churchill Conference, The King gone round. 1858 Skyring's Builders' Prices (ed. 48) 18 Truss framed with king post..Ditto with king and queens. |
c. (Usu. with capital initial.) The British national anthem, ‘God Save the King’.
| 1932 Week-end Rev. 30 Apr. 554/2 Programme to-night as follows:—British Movietone News. Sunshine Susie. Mickey Mouse. The King. 1959 I. Jefferies Thirteen Days vii. 95 The band played the King and we all stood up. 1967 R. Harris All my Enemies iii. 34 We applauded, stood for ‘The King’. |
II. attrib. and
Comb. 12. a. appositive, ‘that is a king’: as
king-bishop,
king-brother,
king-cardinal,
king-dauphin,
king-devil,
king-emperor,
king-folk,
king-god,
king-industry,
king-parliament,
king-pedagogue,
king-poet,
king-pope,
king-sovereign, etc.
| 1890 J. Healy Insula Sanctorum 608 Cormac Mac Carthy, himself a *king-bishop. |
| 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden I. 446 Horrified at the domestic misery of her *king-brother. |
| 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. ii. 20 This is the Cardinals doing: The *King-Cardinall. |
| 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 1184/1 The *king Dolphin and queene of Scots his wife. |
| c 1440 Jacob's Well 9 Þe *kyng deuyl seyde to hym [etc.]. |
| 1902 Westm. Gaz. 27 Feb. 11 The *King-Emperor is honoured among us [sc. Americans] because he stands for the great people whom he rules. 1971 R. Russell tr. Ahmad's Shore & Wave xv. 159 ‘Have you ever attended the King-Emperor's levée?’ asked the Diwan Bahadur. |
| 1876 Morris Sigurd iii. 175 He is born of the Volsung *king-folk. |
| 1614 Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue v. 437 My *King-God, weary of War's tedious toile, In Ninive..Made Publique Feasts. |
| 1875–7 Tennyson Q. Mary i. v, So your *King-parliament suffer him to land. |
| 1850 H. Rogers Ess. (1874) II. iv. 199 The first James..was fit for nothing except to be *king-pedagogue of a nation of pedants. |
| 1890 J. Healy Insula Sanctorum 618 This *King-poet..met with an untimely end. |
| 1826 W. E. Andrews Rev. Fox's Bk. Martyrs II. 198 On the second day the *king-pope [Henry VIII] came down to the house. |
| 1908 H. H. Johnston George Grenfell & Congo I. xx. 448 The Governors-General or heads of departments representing the *King-Sovereign in Africa. |
b. simple attributive, ‘of the king, royal’: as
king-gear,
king-house.
| 1840 Carlyle Heroes v. (1858) 322 Strip your Louis Quatorze of his *king-gear, and there is left nothing but a forked radish with a head fantastically carved. |
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 203/2 A *kynghouse, basilica, regia. |
c. objective and
obj. genitive, as
king-bane,
king-deposer,
king-murderer,
king-worship;
king-becoming,
king-deposing,
king-dethroning,
king-ennobling,
king-murdering,
king-upholding, etc.,
adjs. See also
king-killer, -killing, -maker, -making.
| 1643 Prynne Sov. Power Parlt. i. (ed. 2) 21 Perswaded, while that *King-bane breathed, peace could never be maintained in the Realme. |
| 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 91 The *King-becoming Graces,..I haue no rellish of them. |
| 1780 Cowper Table-t. 57 That were indeed a *king-ennobling thought. |
| 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iv. Captains 1262 The *King-maiming Kinglings of Bezec. |
| a 1711 Ken Hymns Festiv. Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 311 A Persecution..From the traduc'd, *King-murd'ring Sect. |
| 1844 Macaulay Ess., Chatham (1887) 821 The Tories..who had always been inclined to *King-worship. |
| 16.. Sir R. Berkeley in Hurd Dial., Const. Eng. Govt. (1759) 300 note, [Sir Robert Berkeley..affirmed that] the law knows no such *king-yoking policy. |
d. instrumental and locative, as
king-born,
king-descended,
king-favoured adjs.;
† to the kingward, towards the king.
| 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. iv. Wks. (1847) 528/2 Under a thorn..lieth poor Kenelm *kingborn. 1832 Tennyson Œnone 125 A shepherd all thy life but yet kingborn. |
| 18.. C. Rossetti Royal Princess, I, a Princess, *king-descended. |
| 1614–15 Sylvester Panaretus 543 That *King-favour'd Place. |
| 1461 Clement Paston in P. Lett. II. 53 Come to the *Kinge wards or ye meet with him. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. cxlix, Whan the tydyng came to the pope..tho was he to the kyngward ful wrothe. |
13. a. Special combs.:
† king-ale, a feasting or ale-drinking on some royal anniversary;
king-ball, a ball at which others are aimed in bagatelle;
† king-bee, the queen-bee: see 8 a above;
king-card (see
quot.);
king-carp, a variety of the common carp,
Cyprinus carpio;
king-closer (see
quot. and
closer2 3);
king-cobra = hamadryad 2;
king-conch,
-conk, a collector's name for a variety of conch (see
quots.);
King Country N.Z., an extensive region in the North Island of New Zealand formerly allotted to the Maoris under a king; so
King movement,
King party, etc., referring to the followers of this king;
king-fluke,
Sc. the turbot;
† king-game, ?
= king-play;
† king-geld, scutage;
king-herald (see
herald 1 e);
king-hit Austral. slang, (
a) a knock-out blow; a hard punch; (
b) a fighter or bully; a leader; hence as
v. trans., to punch hard or knock out;
king-hood = king's-hood;
† king-key, the main keystone or point of support;
† king-land, a kingdom;
king-list, a list of the names of kings;
king mackerel, a game fish of the eastern
U.S. coast,
Scomberomorus cavalla, also called Spanish mackerel or king-fish;
king-mullet, the goat-fish (
Upeneus maculatus) of the West Indies;
† king-play, a performance of the old drama of the Three Kings;
king-pot, the largest crucible in a brass-smelting furnace;
king-rod, an iron rod used in place of a king-post (
= king-bolt a);
king-roller, the middle roller in a sugar-press;
king-row, the row of pieces next to the end of the draught-board;
† king-sacrificer, the Roman king of the sacrifices (see 5 above);
king salmon, the Californian Salmon (
Oncorhynchus quinnat);
N. Amer., the Chinook or quinnat salmon,
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha;
king-side a. Chess, made or done on the king's side of the board; also applied to men situated on that side;
king-size a., of an extra large size; of larger size than normal;
spec. designating an extra large cigarette; hence
ellipt. as
n., a king-size cigarette; also
king-sized adj.;
king-snake, a large North American snake (
esp. Ophibolus getulus) which attacks other snakes;
king-truss, a roofing-truss which has a king-post;
† king-wand, a sceptre;
† king-wasp, a queen wasp;
king-wood, a Brazilian wood,
prob. from a species of
Dalbergia. See also
king-bolt,
king-crab,
king-craft, etc.
| 1470–73 in Rec. Andover 18 Rec{supd} of William plomer and Alice ffewar for a *Kyngale xxiijs. 1600 Wottone (Hants.) Acc., Receipts for the Kingale as followeth, for the Sunday after Midsomer Day, Junij xxix0. [Also for July 6.] |
| 1679 M. Rusden Further Discov. Bees 2 The Royal Race of *King-Bees, being natural Kings. |
| 1876 A. Campbell-Walker Correct Card (1880) Gloss., *King-card, the best card left in each suit. Thus if the ace and King were out, the King-card would be the queen. |
| 1908 Westm. Gaz. 7 Aug. 10/3 Yesterday a *king carp was hooked. 1930 E. Parker et al. Fine Angling for Coarse Fish 162 A very heavy king-carp..weighed 181/4 lb. This fish is rarer than the common carp. 1971 B. J. Muus Freshwater Fish Brit. & Europe 136/1 Scaled carps (often known as king carps) are covered by small uniform scales. |
| 1888 Mitchell Building Construction i. ii. (1889) 18 *King Closers are bricks cut so that one end is half the width of a brick. |
| 1894 E. H. Aitken Naturalist on Prowl 39 A Hamadryad, or *King Cobra,..the most terrible of the whole serpent tribe. |
| 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour (1861) II. 22 (E.D.D.) The shells of this man's stock-in-trade he called ‘conks’ and ‘*king-conks’. 1885 A. Brassey The Trades 303 The queen-conch..has gone quite out of favour, and nothing but the king-conch—which, though smaller, is far richer in its colouring of dark chocolate and reddish brown—is looked upon with favour as an article of commerce. |
| 1884 J. H. Kerry-Nicholls (title) The *King Country; or, explorations in New Zealand, a narrative of 600 miles of travel through Maoriland. 1910 J. Cowan Maoris of N.Z. xxvii. 294 The men..finally faced death..in the famous redoubt at Orakau, on the borders of what afterwards came to be known as the King Country. 1917 G. H. Scholefield New Zealand iii. 19 A railway ran from Auckland..until it touched..the boundary of the native preserve known as the ‘King Country’, which stretched like a neutral zone across the island. 1944 A. Mulgan From Track to Highway ii. 58 In the end he took refuge in the King country, below the military frontier in the Waikato, where the defeated Kingites had been left unmolested. 1966 Encycl. N.Z. II. 223/2 The King Country, or Rohe Potae, was originally a large tract of the western central North Island... Europeans called the area ‘the King Country’ because it was here that Tawhiao sought refuge following the Maori Wars. |
| 1895 Sea Fishing (Badm. Libr.) 367 They [turbot] are called on the east coast of Scotland *king-fleuk. |
| 1504 Churchw. Acc. in Lysons Env. Lond. (1810) I. 165 At the geveng out of the *Kynggam by [the] cherchewardens, amounted clerely {pstlg}4. 2s. 6d. of that same game. |
| 1706 Phillips, *Kingeld, Escuage, or Royal Aid. |
| 1923 G. Collins Valley of Eyes Unseen i. 29 Neither blow was a true *king hit, however, and neither Chink was anything near knocked out. 1941 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 41 King hit, a knock-out blow. (2) As for ‘king dick’ [= a leader, boss]. 1944 L. Glassop We were Rats xiii. 76 ‘Do this galah over,’ he whispered in my ear. ‘He's a king-hit merchant.’ 1945 Baker Austral. Lang. vi. 120 To bump, comb down,..king hit. 1962 S. Gore Down Golden Mile 277 ‘King-hit me, the bastard,’ he muttered. ‘With me own gun.’ 1970 Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 16 Aug. 32/6 You king-hit him with what appears to be savage brutality. 1974 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 29 Sept. 28 D/2 A piece of legislation that has been described as..a king-hit to human rights. |
| 1654 Vilvain Theol. Treat. vii. 194 This is the *King-key of al the Fabric. |
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1262 His .ix. [son] was tema, for-ðan Is ðor a *ku[n]glond teman. |
| 1914 E. A. T. W. Budge Short Hist. Egyptian People iii. 27 The famous *King-List drawn up for Seti I, and cut upon a wall in a temple built by him at Abydos. 1962 J. Gray Archaeol. & Old Testament World ii. 34 In the king-lists the ‘Flood’ demarcates between historical dynasties and the early ages. |
| 1939 J. O. La Gorce Bk. Fishes (ed. 2) 338/2 *King mackerel serves as Spanish, and bonito may be served as either Spanish or King mackerel. 1953 F. Robb Sea Hunters vii. 104 Old Drum Watts says these aren't barracouta at all—says they're king-mackerel or something. 1965 A. J. McClane Standard Fishing Encycl. 449/2 King mackerel reach a much larger size than any other American Spanish mackerel. 1970 M. Slater Caribbean Cooking 11 Kingfish, a game fish, sometimes called King Mackerel which can weigh up to 100 lb. |
| 1858 *King movement [see hui]. 1860 T. Buddle Maori King Movement 3 This chief..initiated a Maori King movement in the South. 1884 J. H. Kerry-Nicholls King Country 6 In 1854,..Te Heuheu..summoned a native council at Taupo, when the King movement began in earnest. 1959 K. Sinclair in J. E. Gorst Maori King p. xxiii, The King movement survives today, though its followers are less numerous than a century ago. |
| 1860 T. Buddle Maori King Movement 72 It becomes..the duty of those entrusted with native interests..to enter promptly into negociations with the *King party. 1944 A. Mulgan From Track to Highway ii. 55 The King party wanted to keep their king and their flag. |
| 1519 Churchw. Acc. St. Giles, Reading 4 Rec{supd} in gatheryng w{supt} the *kyngplay at Witsontide. 1791 Lysons Environs Lond. (1810) 165 note, It appears by the churchwardens' accounts in the parish of St. Lawrence at Reading, that the ancient drama of the three Kings of Cologne was..performed at that place, and that it was called the King-game or King-play. |
| 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 262 Nine great pots of fire-clay, the largest, or *king-pot, being in the centre. |
| 1847 Longfellow Ev. i. iii. 80 Laughed when a man was crowned, or a breach was made in the *king-row. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 340 What time as L. Posthumius Albinus was *king sacrificer at Rome. |
| 1881 Amer. Naturalist XV. 177 These species [in the North Pacific] may be called the quinnat or *king salmon. 1893 Arena Mar. 490 Great numbers of king salmon ascend the streams to spawn. 1959 Vancouver Sun 28 Aug. 5/1 Fall is also in the return of the salmon to their rivers—not in the early king salmon runs that come to a few rivers in May. |
| 1941 F. Reinfeld Keres' Best Games of Chess 86/1 Not only winning a Pawn, but devaluating the remaining Black *King-side Pawns. 1954 H. Golombek Game of Chess 12 In the case of King side castling, the King is moved two squares to the right. 1973 Times 13 Aug. 12/7 Hartston won quickly with a strong king-side attack against Mestel. |
| [1825 J. Constable Let. 10 Dec. in Corr. (1964) II. 419 Sir Thomas has done 4 pictures in Paris—the two of the King & Dolphin are very large *King size, & fine—the others, are the Dolphiness and Duchess of Berry head size.] 1942 Time 7 Sept. 18/1 (Advt.), Regent Cigarettes, King Size. Ibid., King Size Regent's the cigarette for moderns like you. 1949 Sun (Baltimore) 1 July 2/1 He..allowed Stryker to read the king-size question summarizing the life of Whittaker Chambers. 1957 H. Roosenberg Walls came tumbling Down iv. 88 We..had a king-size meal. 1957 P. Wildeblood Main Chance 159 ‘Have you got a cigarette?’ ‘King-size,’ said Mrs. Tull. ‘Oh, I can't stand them big ones.’ 1966 King size [see economy 9]. 1971 New Scientist 17 June 707/2 It's a pity that Rudolph de Salis..never had the advantage of his king-size burgers. 1971 Wodehouse Much Obliged, Jeeves xiii. 133 The snag which had raised its ugly head was one of formidable—you might say king-size—dimensions. |
| 1943 in Amer. Speech (1944) XIX. 111/2 So that's it for *king-sized beauties. 1953 Manch. Guardian Weekly 24 Apr. 7 A kingsized defence programme. |
| 1883 Coues in Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 319 Both Rattlesnakes and Mocassins will endeavour to get away from the ‘*King Snake’. |
| a 1300 Cursor M. 22266 His corun and his *king wand. |
| 1724 Derham in Phil. Trans. XXXIII. 54 The Queen, or Female-Wasp (by many called the *King-Wasp). |
| 1851 Dict. Archit., *King Wood..is beautifully streaked in violet tints..and is principally used for turning and for small cabinet work. 1885 Cassell's Techn. Educ. II. 26 Violet-wood and king-wood, which come to this country..from the Brazilian forests. |
b. in names of birds, as
king-auk [
tr. Norw. alkekonge], the little auk or rotche;
king-crow, the leader of a flock of crows; also the name of several species of drongo,
esp. Dicrurus ater;
king-duck,
king-eider,
Somateria spectabilis, allied to the eider-duck;
king-hunter, several species of African and Australian birds related to the king-fisher, but which do not feed on fish;
king-lory = king-parrakeet (Newton
Dict. Birds 1893);
king-ortolan (see
quot.);
king-parrakeet,
king-parrot, the name of several species of small parrots of the genus
Aprosmictus, kept as cage-birds;
king-penguin,
Aptenodytes longirostris;
king-rail (see
quot.);
king-tyrant = king-bird 3;
king-vulture,
Gypagus (Cathartes) papa, of tropical America, having a gaudy-coloured head.
| 1885 Stand. Nat. Hist. IV. 69 The little sea-dove..or *king-auk, as it is styled by the Norsemen. |
| 1866 Intell. Observ. No. 50. 106 The *King crows, or drongo shrikes. 1883 E. H. Aitken Tribes on my Frontier 143 (Y.) The King-crow..leaves the whole bird and beast tribe far behind in originality and force of character. |
| 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxi. 270 A noble specimen of the *king duck. 1876 Davis Polaris Exp. xvi. 378 The Esquimaux shot three king-ducks. |
| 1893 Dixon Game Birds 447 The *King Eider..is occasionally found in fresh water. |
| 1837 Swainson Nat. Hist. Birds II. 154 These are the habits of the European kingfisher..and travellers affirm that the *king-hunters..pursue the same method. 1885 Stand. Nat. Hist. IV. 401 The giant kinghunter of Australia. 1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.E. Africa 64, I saw a pair of the great African Kingfishers, and a handsome Kinghunter. |
| 1888 Trumbull Bird Names 122 Gallinula galeata..At Washington *King-Ortolan..The name King-ortolan is given by Coues and Prentiss..as an alias of Rallus elegans. |
| 1883 Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 315 Several..well known as cagebirds, such as the *King Parrakeet. |
| 1879 Gould Birds N. Guinea V. pl. 9 Yellow-winged *King Parrot. 1890 Lyth Golden South 127 The brilliant scarlet and green king parrot. |
| 1885 Stand. Nat. Hist. IV. 59 The *king penguin of the Falkland Islands..and some other rocks and islands of the Antarctic Ocean. |
| 1888 Trumbull Bird Names 125 The present species [Rallus elegans]..being the *King Rail of ‘the books’. |
| 1837 Swainson Nat. Hist. Birds II. 7 Bees appear to be a favourite food with..the *king tyrant of North America (Tyrannus intrepidus). |
| 1883 Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 263 The tree on which the *King Vulture roosts. 1885 Stand. Nat. Hist. IV. 268 The bird of this group whose appearance is most striking is the king-vulture. |
c. in names of plants, as
† king-apple, an old variety of apple, of red colour and large size;
king-cob = king-cup;
king-cure, name for American species of
Pyrola and
Chimaphila;
king-devil,
Hieracium præaltum, a troublesome weed, common in some parts of America, but originally introduced from Europe;
King Edward (VII potato), an oval variety of potato with a white skin mottled with red, introduced in 1902 by J. Butler;
king fern, (
a) the royal fern (
Osmunda regalis); (
b)
N.Z., a large fern,
Marattia salicina, with a swollen, starchy rhizome; (
c)
Todea barbara, a fern closely related to the royal fern,
Osmunda regalis, found in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa;
king-nut, the name of a species of hickory;
† king-pear, an old variety of pear;
king-pine,
† (
a) the pine-apple; (
b) a large and stately Himalayan fir,
Picea Webbiana;
king-plant, a Javan Orchid,
Anæctochilus setaceus, having purple-brown leaves marked with yellow lines (Miller
Plant-n.);
king-tree (see
quot.).
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. i. (1708) 519 The *King Apple, tho' not common, yet is by some esteemed an excellent Apple. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cccli. 805 Crowfoote is called..in English *King kob. |
| 1874 Dunglison Med. Dict., *King cure, Pyrola maculata. 1898 Britton & Brown Flora North. U.S. III. Index, King-cure. A name of Chimaphila umbellata. |
| Ibid. 284 *King-devil..in north-central New York..a troublesome weed. Naturalized from Europe. |
| 1926 R. N. Salaman Potato Varieties xxvi. 274 (heading) *King Edward VII. Ibid. 275 King Edward, whose parentage is unknown, was raised by a gardener in Northumberland... This variety is today the most popular in England. 1949 ― Hist. & Social Influence Potato x. 170 The ‘King Edward’ became a favourite in the kitchen. 1963 Times 22 Apr. 2/6 The three most popular potato varieties grown in England and Wales are all relatively old. Arran Pilot..was introduced just over 40 years ago. Majestic..was introduced in 1912 and King Edward VII, with about 25 per cent [of the maincrop acreage], in 1902. |
| 1911 W. R. Guilfoyle Austral. Plants 354 Todea barbara. ‘*King Fern’ or ‘Swamp Sponge Fern’. 1921 H. B. Dobbie N.Z. Ferns (ed. 2) xxix. 374 M[arattia] fraxinea (like an ash leaf). ‘Para’, ‘King Fern’, ‘Horseshoe Fern’. The largest herbaceous fern in New Zealand; plentiful in the early days, now becoming scarce. 1962 J. H. Willis Handbk. Plants Victoria I. 10 T[odea] barbara... Austral King-Fern (King Fern)..all States except W.A. (but very localized in S.A.), N.Z., S. Afr. 1963 B. Pearson Coal Flat xxii. 379 The three of them huddled under a king fern. |
| 1898 Britton & Brown Flora North. U.S. I. 486 Hicoria laciniosa. Big Shag-bark, *King-nut. |
| 1585 Higins tr. Junius' Nomenclator 99 b Pirum regium..A *king peare with a very little stalke. |
| 1668 Evelyn Diary 19 Aug., That rare fruit call'd the *King-pine, growing in Barbados. |
| 1863 Bates Nat. Amazon ii. (1864) 38 The Moira-tinga (the White or *King tree) probably the same as, or allied to, the Moira Excelsa which Sir Robert Schomburgk discovered in British Guiana. |
14. Combinations with
king's.
a. Used in numerous titles or appellations, in the sense Of, belonging to, in the service of the king, as head of the State (in which use it interchanges, during the reign of a female sovereign, with
queen's), royal; as
king's coin,
king's commission,
king's court(s,
king's customs,
king's soldiers,
king's taxes,
king's tower, etc.; also
King's advocate,
beadsman,
counsel,
English,
evidence,
highway,
Keys,
peace,
printer,
remembrancer,
scholar,
school,
ship,
thane,
widow,
writ, for which see these words.
king's blue, a shade of blue (see
quots.); a substance giving that colour;
King's messenger: see
messenger 3;
king's peg, a drink consisting of brandy and champagne;
King's (National) Roll, a roll of employers pledged to employ at least a fixed proportion of disabled ex-service men after the war of 1914–18.
b. † king's ale, the strongest ale brewed;
king's (bad) bargain (see
quots.);
† king's bird: see kingbird 1;
† king's books, the taxation lists;
king's chair = king's cushion;
king's cup, lemonade;
king's cushion, a seat made by the crossed hands of two persons;
† king's day, the King's birthday, coronation-day, and similar anniversaries;
† king's fish (see
quots.);
† king's freeman,
Sc., one who, in return for services rendered to the king, had the right to trade as a freeman without being member of a gild;
† king's friends,
Hist., a political party which supported George III in his attempts to increase the power of the crown;
king's-hood Sc. [
cf. Da. kongehætte], the second stomach of ruminants;
† king's language = King's English;
king's letter men, a former class of officers of similar rank with midshipmen (Smyth
Sailor's Word-bk. 1867);
† king's piece: see
king-piece;
† king's silver, (
a) silver blessed by the king, and intended for cramp-rings; (
b) money paid in the Court of Common Pleas for licence to levy a fine;
† king's stroke, the touch of the royal hand for king's evil;
† king's wand, a sceptre;
king's yellow, orpiment or yellow arsenic used as a pigment. See also
King's Bench,
king's evil,
king's man.
| 1574 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) I. 25 That thair be na derare aill sauld nor sax penneis the pynt, and that the samyn be *kingis aill and werraye guid. |
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. T. s.v., One of the *king's bad bargains: a malingeror, or soldier who shirks his duty. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., King's bargain, Good or Bad; said of a seaman according to his activity and merit, or sloth and demerit. |
| 1908 C. Mayer tr. Zerr & Rübencamp's Treat. Colour Manuf. ii. 200 The blue cobalt compounds known in commerce as smalt, *king's blue, cobalt blue, [etc.]. 1951 R. Mayer Artist's Handbk. ii. 52 King's blue, cobalt blue; formerly smalt. 1970 Canad. Antiques Collector Oct. 17/1 Very little, if any, Bristol-blue glass was made between about 1800 and about 1820, when it again came into vogue under the name of king's blue. This was a loyal gesture to George IV. |
| c 1600 Day Begg. Bednall Gr. ii. ii. (1881) 39 You are more in the *Kings Books than he, and pay more Scot and lot a fair deal, so ye do. |
| 1892 Cooley's Pract. Receipts 948 Lemonade. Syn. Lemon-sherbet, *King's cup. |
| 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. vii, He was now mounted on the hands of two of the rioters, clasped together, so as to form what is called in Scotland, ‘The *King's Cushion’. |
| 1622 Direct. Conc. Preachers in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1659) I. 64 Upon the *Kings days, and set Festivals. |
| 1705 W. Bosman Guinea 278 Vast Shoals are taken of the Saffer, or *Kings-fish. 1712 W. Rogers Voy. 77 La Plata..and Uraguay abound so with Fish,..one of the choicest, call'd the Kings-Fish, is small without Bones, and taken only in Winter. |
| 1770 Burke Pres. Discont. Wks. 1815 II. 258 The name by which they chuse to distinguish themselves, is that of king's men or the *king's friends. 1844 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. viii. (1862) 103 ‘King's friends’—men for the most part attached to his service, by holding military or household places. |
| 1685 Lintoun Green (1817) 92 (E.D.D.) Pow's-sowdy, *king's-hoods, mony-plies, Sheep's trotters. 1782 A. Monro Compar. Anat. (ed. 3) 39. The second stomach, which is the anterior and smallest, is called..the bonnet, or king's-hood. |
| c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue Ded. 2 Your courteoures, quha..sum tymes spilt (as they cal it) the *king's language. |
| 1890 *King's peg [see Heidsieck]. 1899 C. J. C. Hyne Further Adv. Capt. Kettle xi. 265 Cranze kept up a steady soak on king's peg—putting in a good three fingers of the liqueur brandy before filling up the tumbler with champagne. 1958 M. Procter Man in Ambush xiii. 148 This was the shy man who drank champagne laced with brandy, a millionaire's drink... It was called King's Peg. |
| 1919 Haig in Times 11 Nov. 10/5, I..appeal to employers..to give a pledge of their sympathy by enrolling their names on the *King's National Roll under the national scheme for the employment of disabled men. 1920 Times 16 Feb. 9/4 The King's Roll. First edition, with 9,500 firms, now in the press. |
| 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 35 A rowund ryng of the *kyngis silvir. 1617 Minsheu Duct. Ling., Kings siluer, is properly that money, which is due to the King in the Court of common plees, in respect of a licence there granted to any man for passing a fine. 1888 W. Rye Records and Rec.-search 39 note, The King's Silver (or the Post Fine) was the fine paid to the King for liberty to compromise the imaginary suit. |
| 1613 Zouch Dove 30 O! may some Royall Heau'n grac'd hand asswage This swelling Euils *Kings-stroke-asking rage! |
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7864 Þai sett a ceptre in his hand Þat man clepes *kyngs wand. |
| c 1790 J. Imison Sch. Art II. 72 *King's Yellow is the most useful and most brilliant. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 414 King's Yellow is a pure orpiment, or arsenic, coloured with sulphur. |
c. in names of plants, as
king's bloom, the peony;
king's crown, (
a)
= Melilot or King's Clover; (
b)
Viburnum Opulus;
king's ellwand, the foxglove (Britt. &
Holl.);
king's feather, London Pride (Miller
Dict. Plant-n. 1884);
king's flower, a S. African liliaceous plant,
Eucomis regia;
king's knob = king-cup (Britt. &
Holl.);
king's spear,
kingspear,
Asphodelus luteus and
A. ramosus;
king's taper, the Great Mullein. Also
king's clover,
consound, etc.
q.v.| 1611 Cotgr., Peone, Peonie, *Kings-bloome, Rose of the Mount. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal App., *King's crowne is Melilotus. 1879 Britten & Holland Plant-n., King's Crown,..Viburnum Opulus. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. lxiv. §1. 88 The leaues of the *Kings speare are long, narrow, and chamfered or furrowed. 1625 B. Jonson Pan's Anniv., Bright crown imperial, kingspear, hollyhocks. 1892 A. M. Clerke Fam. Stud. Homer viii. 213 The tall white flowers of the king's spear. |
| 1861 Mrs. Lankester Wild Fl. 102 Great Mullein..The common name, ‘Torchblade’, or ‘*King's taper’, may have arisen from its candle⁓like appearance. |
15. Phraseological combinations, as
King Charles's head [with reference to Mr. Dick in Dickens's
David Copperfield xiv], an obsession or fixed idea;
King Charles's Spaniel (see
spaniel);
† King Harry cut (see
quot. 1611);
King Henry's shoestrings, a dish in cookery;
King James('s) translation or
version, the Authorized Version of the Bible (1611); also
King James;
King William's cravat, a cravat of the kind worn by King William III (1689–1702).
| 1882 W. How Let. in H. Barnett Canon Barnett (1918) I. xxii. 275 Like King Charles's head, there was no keeping you out. 1889 G. B. Shaw London Music 1888–89 (1937) 124, I am afraid I shall have to drag in the subject of music rather often in this column. I know that it is my King Charles's head. 1929 C. Mackenzie Gallipoli Memories xii. 198 And then, of course, he produced his King Charles's head, which was the landing at Bulair. 1972 F. M. López-Morillas in R. Highfield Spain in 15th Cent. xiv. 441 His King Charles' head was the role played on the first voyage by Mart{iacu}n Alonso Pinzón. 1973 Times 30 June 13/5 My own King Charles's head is the use of ‘nerve-wracking’ for ‘nerve-racking’. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Balafre, a slash ouer the face; a king Harry cut. 1887 Spon's Househ. Man. 413 King Henry's Shoestrings. Make a batter with 1/4 lb. flour [etc.]. |
| 1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 374/2 The period of King James's translation. 1931 Sunday School Times (Philadelphia) 22 Aug. 458/1 A good English translation should be in good English idiom, and the old King James was that at least. 1932 Jrnl. R. Anthrop. Inst. LXII. 283 He made ‘a serpent of brass’, as the King James version says. 1973 Sci. Amer. Aug. 98/3 Add the number on the top of A to the number on the bottom of B, then find the chapter of Genesis (in a King James Bible) that corresponds to the sum. |
| 1748 Richardson Clarissa II. i. 7 A King-William's-Cravat, or some such antique chin-cushion as by the pictures of that prince one sees was then the fashion. |
Add:
[7.] d. Of a commodity or currency.
Cf. sense 6 b above.
orig. U.S.| 1855 D. Christy (title) Cotton is king or, The culture of cotton, and its relation to agriculture, manufactures and commerce, [etc.]. 1862 R. H. Newell Orpheus C. Kerr Papers 1st Ser. 202 When economy can be thus artistically blended with plentitude..money ceases to be king, and butcher-bills dwindle. 1884 W. Shepherd Prairie Experiences 121 The dollar is king here as elsewhere. 1929 Moberly & Cameron (title) When fur was king. 1943 E. K. Brown On Canad. Poetry i. v. 20 Canada is a nation where the best-seller is king. 1984 Times 8 Aug. 26/7 Traditionally, Durham was very much a moderate area, producing redoubtable right-wing leaders such as Sam Watson... That was when coal was still king hereabouts. |
▪ II. king, v. (
kɪŋ)
[f. prec. n.] 1. intr. (mostly with
it). To act the king; to perform the part of a king; to rule, govern.
| c 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3307 Out of pitee, growith mercy and springiþ,..What prince hem lakkith, naght aright he kyngeth. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) II. 41 The Lord Deputy Kings it notably in Ireland. 1701 Rowe Amb. Step-Moth. iv. i. 1677 You King rarely! You mean to be renown'd for early Justice. 1883 E. F. Knight Cruise ‘Falcon’ (1887) 162 Some sacred bull of Memphis, kinging it in his manger. |
2. trans. To make (one) a king.
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, v. v. 36 Then crushing penurie, Perswades me, I was better when a King: Then am I king'd againe. 1656 S. H. Gold. Law 24 It un-king'd him, and King'd his un-kingers in point of Power. a 1716 South Twelve Serm. (1744) II. 51 Those traiterous Captains of Israel, who kinged themselves by slaying their masters. 1843 Lytton Last Bar. viii. viii, The recreant whom I kinged. |
3. To rule over, to govern, as a king.
rare.
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iv. 26 Shee [France] is so idly king'd, Her Scepter so phantastically borne. 1839 Bailey Festus ii. (1852) 15 Why mad'st Thou not one spirit, like the sun, To King the world? |
4. quasi-trans. To mention the name of ‘king’. (
Cf. but v.).
nonce-use.
| 1605 Tryall Chevalry i. i. in Bullen O. Pl. III. 271 King me no Kings. |
Hence
ˈkinging vbl. n., the act of making, or fact of being made, a king.
| 1656 S. H. Gold. Law 64 Solomon also opprest the people so,..as it obstacled his son Rehoboams Kinging. 1708 T. Ward Eng. Ref. (1716) 95 Till once again he fell to Kinging, And then he got a Rope to swing in. |