kink

English

WOTD – 21 April 2007

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɪŋk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋk

Etymology 1

From Middle English kinken, kynken, from Old English *cincian (attested in cincung), from Proto-West Germanic *kinkōn, from Proto-Germanic *kinkōną (“to laugh”), from Proto-Indo-European *gang- (“to mock, jeer, deride”), related to Old English canc (“jeering, scorn, derision”). Cognate with Dutch kinken (“to kink, cough”).

Alternative forms

• chink

Verb

kink (third-person singular simple present kinks, present participle kinking, simple past and past participle kinked)

1. To laugh loudly.
2. To gasp for breath as in a severe fit of coughing.

Noun

kink (plural kinks)

1. (Scotland, dialect) A convulsive fit of coughing or laughter; a sonorous indraft of breath; a whoop; a gasp of breath caused by laughing, coughing, or crying.

Etymology 2

From Dutch kink (“a twist or curl in a rope”), from Proto-Germanic *kenk-, *keng- (“to bend, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *gengʰ- (“to turn, wind, braid, weave”). Compare Middle Low German kinke (“spiral screw, coil”), Old Norse kikna (“to bend backwards, sink at the knee”), Icelandic kengur (“a bend or bight; a metal crook”). Probably related to kick.

Alternative forms

• k1nk, k!nk, k/nk, k*nk (bowdlerizations)

Noun

kink (countable and uncountable, plural kinks)

1. A tight curl, twist, or bend in a length of thin material, hair etc.

   We couldn't get enough water to put out the fire because of a kink in the hose.

2. A difficulty or flaw that is likely to impede operation, as in a plan or system.

   They had planned to open another shop downtown, but their plan had a few kinks.

3. An unreasonable notion; a crotchet; a whim; a caprice.
   • 1856, Frederick Swartwout Cozzens, The Sparrowgrass Papers:

     Never a Yankee was born or bred / Without that peculiar kink in his head / By which he could turn the smallest amount / Of whatever he had to the best account.

4. (informal, countable or uncountable) Peculiarity or deviation in sexual behaviour or taste.

   Synonym: paraphilia

   Antonym: normophilia

   • 2013, Alison Tyler, H Is for Hardcore, page 13:

     To top it all off, Lynn is into kink. Last night she was really into kink. It's a good thing that today is my day off because I need the time to recuperate and think things over.

5. (informal, countable) A person with peculiar sexual tastes.

   Synonym: kinkster

   • 1985, John Dann MacDonald, Five Complete Travis McGee Novels, page 254:

     "What do they think you know?"
     "No more than I've told you. That he's a kink. He rapes people and kills people and spends too much money and flies grass in."

   • 2013, James Hadley Chase, A Can of Worms:

     “He's a kink. All I have to do is toss off my clothes and dance around his apartment while he sits and drools.”

6. (mathematics) A positive 1-soliton solution to the sine-Gordon equation.

Derived terms

• kink meme
• kinkshame
• kinky
• sun kink
• YKINMK

 

Translations

tight curl, twist, or bend

• Bulgarian: извивка (bg) f (izvivka), чупка (bg) f (čupka)
• Catalan: distorsió f, remolí (ca) m, arruga (ca) f
• Dutch: kink (nl)
• Finnish: sykkyrä
• French: coude (fr) m
• Georgian: მარყუჟი (marq̇uži), ყულფი (q̇ulpi), ნაკვთი (naḳvti)
• German: Knick (de) m, Kurve (de) f
• Hebrew: קשר (he) m (kesher)
• Portuguese: dobra (pt) f, prega (pt) f
• Romanian: răsucitură (ro) f, zuluf (ro) m
• Russian: переги́б (ru) m (peregíb), заги́б (ru) m (zagíb), изги́б (ru) m (izgíb)
• Spanish: arruga (es) f, pliegue (es) m, doblez (es), dobladura f, doblegadura f
• Swedish: knut (sv) c, veck (sv) n, fnurra (sv) c

difficulty or flaw that impedes operation

• Czech: zádrhel (cs) m
• Finnish: puute (fi), vika (fi)
• French: hic (fr) m, imprévu (fr) m
• Georgian: პრობლემა (ṗroblema), დაბრკოლება (dabrḳoleba)
• German: Macke (de) f
• Russian: пробле́ма (ru) f (probléma), препя́тствие (ru) n (prepjátstvije)
• Spanish: problema (es) m, impedimento (es) m, pero (es) m, inconveniente (es) m
• Swedish: brist (sv) c, problem (sv) n

peculiarity in sexual behaviour or taste

• Catalan: desviació (ca) f, perversió f
• Finnish: kierouma
• French: bizarrerie (fr) f, excentricité (fr) f, perversion (fr) f
• German: Perversion (de) f
• Greek: διαστροφή (el) f (diastrofí), εκκεντρικότητα (el) f (ekkentrikótita)
• Hungarian: perverzió (hu), beteges hajlam, ferde hajlam
• Italian: perversione (it) f
• Portuguese: tara (pt) f, perversidade (pt) f
• Romanian: fetiș (ro) n, perversiune sexuală f
• Russian: заско́к (ru) m (zaskók), ненорма́льность (ru) f (nenormálʹnostʹ), стра́нность (ru) f (stránnostʹ), отклонение (ru) n (otklonenije) (formal), извращение (ru) n (izvraščenije)
• Spanish: desviación (es) f, rareza (es) f, desvarío (es) m, excentricidad f
• Swedish: avvikelse (sv) c

See also

• BDSM
• fetish

Verb

kink (third-person singular simple present kinks, present participle kinking, simple past and past participle kinked)

1. (transitive) To form a kink or twist.
2. (intransitive) To be formed into a kink or twist.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• kink on
• kink out
• kinked
• kinkle
• kinkless
• kinkster
• kinky

Translations

to form a kink or twist

• Bulgarian: правя чупка (pravja čupka)
• Romanian: răsuci (ro)
• Russian: перегну́ться (ru) pf (peregnútʹsja) (form a kink), перекрути́ться (ru) pf (perekrutítʹsja) (form a twist)
• Spanish: arrugar (es), doblar (es)

Anagrams

• Knik

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch *kinc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɪŋk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: kink
• Rhymes: -ɪŋk

Noun

kink f (plural kinken, diminutive kinkje n)

1. kink (curl, twist, or bend)

   Er zat een kink in de kabel.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived terms

• kinkhoorn

Descendants

• Afrikaans: kink
• → Papiamentu: kènk, kenku

Estonian

Etymology 1

From Low German schenke.

Noun

kink (genitive kingi, partitive kinki)

1. gift
2. favour/favor

Inflection

Declension of kink (ÕS type 22e/riik, k-g gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		kink	kingid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	kingi
genitive			kinkide
partitive		kinki	kinke kinkisid
illative		kinki kingisse	kinkidesse kingesse
inessive		kingis	kinkides kinges
elative		kingist	kinkidest kingest
allative		kingile	kinkidele kingele
adessive		kingil	kinkidel kingel
ablative		kingilt	kinkidelt kingelt
translative		kingiks	kinkideks kingeks
terminative		kingini	kinkideni
essive		kingina	kinkidena
abessive		kingita	kinkideta
comitative		kingiga	kinkidega

Derived terms

• jõulukink

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) Cognate to dialectal Finnish kenkku.

Noun

kink (genitive kingu, partitive kinku)

1. small mound, knoll

Inflection

Declension of kink (ÕS type 22e/riik, k-g gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		kink	kingud
accusative	nom.
	gen.	kingu
genitive			kinkude
partitive		kinku	kinke kinkusid
illative		kinku kingusse	kinkudesse kingesse
inessive		kingus	kinkudes kinges
elative		kingust	kinkudest kingest
allative		kingule	kinkudele kingele
adessive		kingul	kinkudel kingel
ablative		kingult	kinkudelt kingelt
translative		kinguks	kinkudeks kingeks
terminative		kinguni	kinkudeni
essive		kinguna	kinkudena
abessive		kinguta	kinkudeta
comitative		kinguga	kinkudega

Derived terms

• häbemekink

Hungarian

Etymology

From ki (“who”) +‎ -nk (“our, of ours”, possessive suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkiŋk]
• Hyphenation: kink

Pronoun

kink

1. first-person plural single-possession possessive of ki

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	kink	—
accusative	kinket	—
dative	kinknek	—
instrumental	kinkkel	—
causal-final	kinkért	—
translative	kinkké	—
terminative	kinkig	—
essive-formal	kinkként	—
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	kinkben	—
superessive	kinken	—
adessive	kinknél	—
illative	kinkbe	—
sublative	kinkre	—
allative	kinkhez	—
elative	kinkből	—
delative	kinkről	—
ablative	kinktől	—
non-attributive possessive - singular	kinké	—
non-attributive possessive - plural	kinkéi	—

Yola

Etymology

A nasal form from Middle English kyken. Compare also robunkshough (“roebuck forest”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɪŋk/

Verb

kink (simple past kinket)

1. to toss or trip, kick

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 50