kick English · revision 3915

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1386|origins=non kikna}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|kiken]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) perhaps [[bor|non|kikna|t=to bend backwards, sink at the knees]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) compare Norwegian keike “to bend backwards, wrangle”.^(Barnhart 1988) Liberman takes the Scandinavian origin as sure, relating it to Old Norse keikja “to bend back”, with the same root in another grade of ablaut, and to many words meaning “bend, twist”;^(Liberman 2008) the OED's doubts about it are, he says, probably unfounded.^(Liberman 2008)^(Etymonline) Hoad and the New Oxford call it of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Older sources guessed a Celtic origin,^(Etymonline) but according to the OED the often-cited Welsh cicio is from English.^(Barnhart 1988) The spelling kick appears in the mid-16th century.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To strike out with the foot: about 1384 in Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and 1386 in Liberman,^(Liberman 2008) in the Wycliffe Bible's ''kiken ayens the pricke'' “to kick against the pricks”, of showing defiance to one's own hurt.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The image is of an ox kicking at a goad, from the story of Saul on the road to Damascus.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense “to complain, protest, rebel” is from the late 14th century, probably at least partly from the Bible verse.^(Etymonline) The transitive “to strike with the foot” is from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The noun, a blow with the foot, is from 1530, in Palsgrave.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The recoil of a gun is from 1826 for the noun and 1832 for the verb.^(Etymonline) The slang sense “to die” is from 1725,^(Etymonline) ''kick out'' from the 1690s,^(Etymonline) ''kicked upstairs'' from 1750^(Etymonline) and ''kick in'', “to contribute”, American from 1908.^(Etymonline) The sense “stimulation from liquor or drugs” is from 1844,^(Etymonline) and “a thrill”, often ''kicks'', from 1941;^(Etymonline) ''to kick'' a drug habit is from 1936.^(Etymonline) An indentation in the bottom of a bottle, from 1861, is a separate word.^(OED 1989)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1384 – to strike with the foot, in the Wycliffe Bible.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – noun, a kick.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-16th century – spelling ''kick''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1690s – ''kick out''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1725 – slang, to die.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1826 – the recoil of a gun.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – a stimulating effect.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1936 – to give up a drug.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1941 – a thrill.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To strike with the foot.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To move a ball by striking it with the foot; to score by kicking.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a gun, to [[recoil]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To [[protest]] or complain.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' To give up a habit: ''to kick smoking''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A blow with the foot.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The recoil of a gun.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A feeling of pleasure or excitement; a [[thrill]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Strength or stimulating effect, as of a drink.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[kickable]]

+ * [[kickless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[kickback]]

+ * [[kickoff]]

+ * [[sidekick]]

+ * [[kick the bucket]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}