A.Word.A.Day --kip

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kip

PRONUNCIATION:

(kip)

MEANING:

1: noun: Sleep; a place to sleep; a bed.
2: verb intr.: To sleep or nap.
3: noun: The hide of a young or small animal or a bundle of such hides.
4: noun: The basic unit of currency in Laos.
5: An acronym formed from kilo- + pound. Earliest documented use: 1915.

ETYMOLOGY:

1, 2: Perhaps from Danish kippe (cheap tavern). Earliest documented use: 1766.
3: Perhaps from Middle Dutch kip/kijp (a bundle, especially of hides). Earliest documented use: 1530.
4: From Thai. Earliest documented use: 1955.
5: An acronym formed from kilo- + pound. Earliest documented use: 1915.

USAGE:

"When Charles and Diana married in 1981, PM David Cameron kipped on the pavement the night before to ensure he got a great view on the Mall. This time he'll have a ringside seat."
Sarah Turner; Royal Wedding hotels; The Daily Mirror (London, UK); Dec 12, 2010.

"Indian Head, Anderson said, exerts 440 kips of pressure on the boulder."
Robert Wilson; Indian Head Rock Getting a Face-lift; The Knoxville News Sentinel (Tennessee); May 8, 2008.

See more usage examples of kip in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Everyone, in some small sacred sanctuary of the self, is nuts. -Leo Rosten, author (1908-1997)

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