kidney English · revision 10414

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=c. 1325}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɪdni/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English kidenere, kideneye, kidenei, of unknown or obscure origin.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) The second element seems to be ey, egg (see [[egg]]), referring to the shape,^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and the plural kidneiren was perhaps influenced by Middle English nere, kidney, from Old English *nēore, cognate with German [[m|de|Niere]] and Greek nephrós.^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart suggests an Old English compound *cydenēore, with dialect kid, a pod (related to [[cod]], a bag),^(Barnhart 1988) while Etymonline proposes Old English cwiþ, womb.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Either of the pair of organs that secrete urine: before 1325 in Barnhart, about 1325 in the OED, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The modern spelling developed from kideneye (1392).^(Barnhart 1988) The figurative sense, temperament, kind or sort, as in ''of the same kidney'', is from the 1550s (before 1555).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) The ''kidney bean'', named for its shape, is from the 1540s,^(Etymonline) and the kidney potato from 1796.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1325 – the organ.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1392 – kideneye.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1540s – kidney bean.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – temperament.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1796 – kidney potato.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Either of a pair of bean-shaped organs that filter waste from the blood and excrete it as urine.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The kidney of an animal eaten as food.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Kind, sort or temperament: ''a man of a different kidney''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[kidneylike]]

+ * [[kidney-shaped]]

+ * [[kidneywort]]

+ * [[artificial kidney]]

+ * [[kidney bean]]

+ * [[kidney stone]]

+ * [[kidney vetch]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[renal]]

+ * [[nephritis]]

+ * [[egg]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}