Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/198

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borrowed, and of the gender of the Southern terms for fruit, see Pflaume.

Kissen, Küssen, n., ‘cushion,’ from MidHG. küssen, küssîn, OHG. chussī̆n, n., ‘cushion’; comp. Du. kussen, ‘cushion.’ The G. word is derived (comp. Pfühl and Flaum) from the equiv. MidLat. cussînus (Fr. coussin), which comes from Lat. *culcitinum, allied to culcita, ‘mattress, cushion’; E. cushion and Ital. cuscino are modern Fr. loan-words. The i of ModHG. Kissen comes from MidG. and UpG. dialects (comp. Pilz and Bims).

Kiste, f., ‘box,’ from MidHG. kiste, OHG. chista, f., ‘box, chest’; comp. Du. kist, AS. čest, čîste, E. chest, OIc. kista, ‘box.’ In Goth. a cognate term is wanting. The assumption that the Teut. languages borrowed Lat. cista (Gr. κίστη) at a very early period, at any rate long before the change of the initial c of cista into tz, presents no greater difficulty than in the case of Arche; comp. Korb, Koffer, and Sack. Hence between Kasten and Kiste there is no etymological connection; the first has no cognate term in Lat.

Kitt, m., from the equiv. MidHG. küte, küt, m., ‘cement, putty,’ OHG. chuti, quiti, ‘glue, birdlime,’ which makes it probable that the Goth. form was *qidus; comp. also AS. cwidu, ‘resin of trees.’ Prim. allied to Lat. bitumen, Sans. jatu, ‘resin of trees’; common type getú. Allied also to OIc. kváða, Swed. kåda, ‘resin,’ MidE. code, ‘pitch.’

Kittel, m., ‘smock-frock,’ from MidHG. kitel, kittel, m., ‘smock-frock, shirt, chemise.’ AS. cyrtel, E. kirtle, OIc. kyrtell, on account of the medial r and the abnormal dental correspondence, cannot be compared (they are allied to kurz). Its connection with χιτών is impossible. The origin of the HG. word has not been explained. The strong suspicion that it has been borrowed cannot be proved.

Kitze (1.), f., from the equiv. MidHG. kitze, kiz, n., OHG. chizzî, kizzîn, n., ‘kid’; from Teut. *kittîn, n., with the original dimin. suffix -îna, which appears in Küchelein and Schwein. Goth. *kidi (kidjis), n., may be deduced from OIc. kið, n., ‘she-goat,’ whence E. kid is borrowed (an E. word cognate with Scand. must have had an initial ch). Further, the assumed Goth. *kidi and *kittein, with medial dentals, are related to each other, just as the forms assumed under Ziege, tigô and tikkein, with

medial gutturals. The close correspondence between Kitze and Zicke proves that they are related; both are pet names for Geiß, ‘goat’ (comp. Swiss gitzi for OHG. chitzî).

Kitze (2.), Kietze, f., ‘kitten, kid, fawn,’ not found in MidHG. and OHG., but probably existing in the vernacular, as is indicated by the specifically HG. tz compared with LG. tt (kitte); comp. MidE. chitte, ‘kitten,’ from an unrecorded AS. *citten (E. kitten); MidE. kitlung, E. kitling, are probably borrowed from Scand. ketlingr, ‘kitten.’ The cognates are related by gradation to Katze.

kitzeln, vb., ‘to tickle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kitzeln, kützeln, OHG. chizzilôn, chuzzilôn; comp. MidLG. ketelen, OIc. kitla; AS. cytelian (E. to kittle) is based on the prim. form *kutilôn. E. to tickle, MidE. tikelen, is based on a transposition of consonants in the root kit (so too Alem. zicklen, ‘to provoke’); comp. Essig, Fieber, Kabeljau, and Ziege. The Teut. root kit, kut, ‘to tickle,’ seems to have been coined anew in Teut. on an onomatopoetic basis; hence the OHG. variants chizzilôn, chuzzilôn. In cognate languages similar correspondences are formed anew; comp. Lett. kutēt, ‘to tickle.’ The subst. Kitzel, m., ‘tickling,’ first occurs in ModHG. and is formed from the vb.; comp. Handel.

klabastern, vb., ‘to run noisily,’ ModHG. only; orig. a LG. term; in consequence of the entire absence of the word in the earlier periods of the languages its origin is dubious; it is most probably akin to OHG. klaphôn, MidHG. klaffen, ‘to clatter’; AS. clappian, E. to clap.

Kladde, f., ‘rough draft, day-book,’ ModHG. only, from LG. kladde, ‘impurity, dirt,’ then ‘rough draft’; further details for the elucidation of the LG. word (comp. klaterig) are wanting.

Klaff, m., ‘crash, yelp, bark,’ from MidHG. klaf (gen. klaffes) and klapf, m., ‘report, crack,’ OHG. klaph, m., anaklaph, ‘shock’; MidHG. klaffen, klapfen, ‘to ring, resound,’ ûf klaffen, ‘to break asunder, open, gape,’ OHG. chlaphôn; Goth. *klappôn is wanting; AS. clappian, E. to clap. ‘Resounding’ is the prim. meaning of the stem klapp, while ‘cracking, bursting, gaping’ is the derivative sense; comp. Klapp and klopfen.

Klafter, n., m., and f., ‘fathom,’ from MidHG. klâfter, f., m., and n., OHG.