a genus of birds belonging to the order of picae. See Ornithology Index.

K.

The tenth letter, and seventh consonant of our alphabet; being formed by the voice, by a guttural expression of the breath through the mouth, together with a depression of the lower jaw and opening of the teeth.

It is found much the same with that of the hard c, or qu: and it is used for the most part only before e, i, and n, in the beginning of words; as ken, kill, know, &c. It used formerly to be always joined with c at the end of words, but is at present very properly omitted, at least in words derived from the Latin: thus, for publick, musick, &c. we say public, music, &c. However in monosyllables, it is still retained, as jack, block, mock, &c.

K is borrowed from the Greek kappa; and was but little used among the Latins: Priscian looked on it as a superfluous letter; and says it was never to be used except in words borrowed from the Greek. Dauphinius, after Sallust, observes that it was unknown to the ancient Romans. Indeed we seldom find it in any Latin authors, excepting in the word kalender, where it sometimes stands in lieu of a c.—Carthage, however, is frequently spelt on medals with a K; salvis aug. et caes. fel. kart. and sometimes the letter K alone flood for Carthage.—M. Berger has observed, that a capital K, on the reverse of the medals of the emperors of Constantinople, signified Konstantinos; and on the Greek medals he will have it to signify KOIAH EYPIA, "Coele Syria."

Quintilian tells us, that in his time some people had a mistaken notion, that wherever the letter c and a occurred at the beginning of a word, k ought to be used instead of the c. See C.

Lipius observes, that K was a stigma anciently marked on the foreheads of criminals with a red-hot iron.

The letter K has various significations in old charters and diplomas; for instance KR. flood for chorus; KR.C. for cara civitas; KRM. for carmen; KR.AM.N. for carus amicus moller; KS. choris; KT. capitae tonsur, &c.

The French never use the letter k excepting in a few terms of art and proper names borrowed from other countries. Ablancourt, in his dialogue of the letters, brings in k complaining, that he has been often in a fair way to be banished out of the French alphabet, and confined to the countries of the north.

K is also a numeral letter, signifying 250, according to the verse,

K quoque ducentos et quinquaginta tenebit.

When it had a stroke at top, K, it stood for 250,000.

K on the French coinage denotes money coined at Bourdeaux.