kɪŋ n. & v. --n. 1 (as a
title usu. King) a
male sovereign,
esp.
the hereditary ruler of an
independent State. 2 a
person or
thing pre-eminent in a specified
field or
class (railway king). 3 a
large (or the largest) kind of
plant,
animal, etc. (king penguin). 4
Chess the
piece on
each side which the opposing side
has to
checkmate to
win. 5 a piece in draughts
with extra capacity of
moving,
made by crowning an
ordinary piece
that has reached the opponent's
baseline. 6 a court-card
bearing a
representation of a king
and usu.
ranking next below an
ace. 7 (the King) (in the UK) the
national anthem when there is a male sovereign. 8 (Kings or Books of Kings)
two Old Testament books dealing with
history, esp. of the
kingdom of Judah. --v.tr.
make (a person) king. øKing Charles
spaniel a spaniel of a
small black and tan
breed. king
cobra a large and
venomous hooded Indian snake, Ophiophagus hannah. king-crab 1 =
horseshoe crab. 2 US
any of
various large
edible spider crabs. king-fish any of various large fish, esp. the
opah or
mulloway. king it 1
play or
act the king. 2 (usu. foll. by over)
govern,
control. King James
Bible (or Version) = Authorized
Version (see AUTHORIZE). King of Arms
Heraldry (in the UK) a
chief herald (at the
College of Arms:
Garter,
Clarenceux, and
Norroy and
Ulster; in Scotland: Lyon). king of beasts the
lion. king of birds the
eagle. King of the
Castle a children's game consisting of
trying to
displace a
rival from a mound. King of Kings 1
God. 2 the title assumed by
many eastern kings. king-post an
upright post from the tie-beam of a
roof to the
apex of a
truss. King's
Bench see BENCH. king's
bishop,
knight , etc. Chess (of pieces which
exist in pairs) the piece
starting on the king's side of the
board. King's
bounty see BOUNTY. King's
colour see COLOUR. King's
Counsel see COUNSEL. King's
English see ENGLISH. King's
evidence see EVIDENCE. king's
evil hist.
scrofula,
formerly held to be
curable by the
royal touch. King's
Guide see GUIDE. King's
highway see HIGHWAY. king-size (or -sized) larger
than normal;
very large. King's
Messenger see MESSENGER. king's pawn Chess the pawn in
front of the king at the
beginning of a game. King's
Proctor see PROCTOR. king's
ransom a
fortune. King's Scout see
SCOUT(1). King's
speech see SPEECH. øøkinghood n. kingless adj. kinglike adj. kingly adj. kingliness n. kingship n. [OE cyning, cyng f. Gmc]
