king

CEFRA2

/ˈkɪŋ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A male ruler of a country or kingdom.

  2. 02

    noun

    The most important or successful person or thing in a group.

Examples

  • State occasions always centred around the king.

  • The king was tired of his sycophants always praising him, so he sent them away.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • [ˈkʰeɪ̯ŋ]
  • [ˈkʰiŋ]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A male leader of a traditional Aboriginal group, often used as a title by colonists.

  2. The monarch with the most power and authority in a monarchy, regardless of sex.

  3. A male monarch; a man who heads a monarchy; in an absolute monarchy, the supreme ruler of his nation.

More examples

In context

  • When I grow up, I want to be a king.

  • Charles the third became the new king of England from 2022.

  • Henry VIII was the king of England from 1509 to 1547.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank wore a golden crown and ruled the entire land with power.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English king, kyng, kynge, from Old English cening, cing, cining, cuning, cyncg, cyneg, cyng, cyngc, cynig, cyning, king, kining, kuning, kyning, kyningc (“king”), from Proto-West Germanic *kuning, from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz, *kunungaz (“king”), from *kunją (“clan, family, kin”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to produce; to beget”). Equivalent to kin + -ing. Doublet of cyning and knez. Cognates Cognate with Yola king, kinge (“king”), North Frisian kining, köning (“king”), Saterland Frisian Kening, König, Köänig (“king”), West Frisian kening (“king”), Alemannic German Chüng, Künig (“king”), Bavarian Kini (“king”), Central Franconian Künning (“king”), Cimbrian khuuneg (“ki...