I. ˈkīnd noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English kind, kinde, from Old English cynd, ge cynd; akin to Old English cyn kin — more at kin
1.
a. archaic : a universal order or inherent tendency in nature
God holds us by laws of kind — Nathaniel Fairfax
lovers wanting sight shall follow kind — Thomas Watson †1592
specifically : natural disposition
b. : a natural grouping without taxonomic connotations : species
people … cut off by the desert or the frozen north from communication with their kind — Ellen Glasgow
the ways that mud turtles had found best for their kind — J.W.Krutch
search for the real essences of natural kinds — Stuart Hampshire
c. archaic : family , lineage
of a gentle kind and noble stock — Shakespeare
d. archaic : a related grouping : sect
poets ever were a careless kind — William Collins †1759
2.
a. archaic : style , aspect , manner , wise
mirthful … but in a stately kind — Alfred Tennyson
in no kind desirous that his majesty should be under any obligation — Thomas Hale
b. South & Midland : way — used with superlative
he's heartburning the worst kind over that little gal — American Guide Series: Tennessee
he's goin' to coax his father the hardest kind — W.D.Howells
3.
a. obsolete : sex
ask … what inquest made her dissemble her disguished kind — Edmund Spenser
b. archaic : innate character : instinct
though fickle she prove, a woman has't by kind — Robert Burns
c. : fundamental nature or quality : essence
problems of social science differ from problems of individual behavior in degree … not in kind — Edward Sapir
4.
a. : a group united by common traits or interests : category , class
examples of kinds of steel are: crucible, Bessemer, basic open-hearth — S.E.Rusinoff
colonial houses … perfect of their kind — R.W.Hatch
there are kinds of madness which are really forms of inspiration — R.M.Weaver
the kind is satire — Times Literary Supplement
turned to Washington … to find companionship among his own kind — Allen Johnson
the people I have in mind are the kind who assume most of the responsibility for unpaid … civic duties — J.W.Hoffman
— sometimes used as a zero plural with a preceding these or those and a following of
these kind of sensational statements — Sir Winston Churchill
b.
(1) : a specific variety : type , brand
one kind of uniform for all … troops — L.H.Smith
the kind of analysis followed — W.D.Preston
what kind of car do you drive
— often used in the phrase kind of a
some kind of a house is the first requirement of civilized man — L.F.Salzman
what kind of an organization — H.E.Gaston
consider the kind of a community in which they have faith — Eric Goldman
that kind of a girl — Hamilton Basso
(2) : a recognized or desirable variety
novel which won all kinds of praise — Saturday Review
can be more kinds of a fool in a short time — W.C.Tuttle
didn't figure that was any kind of a life — H.S.Chippendale
c. : a doubtful or barely admissible member of a specified category — used with of and the indefinite article
gave a kind of snort — John Dos Passos
the whole universe … turned a kind of gray — H.A.Chippendale
it's kind of a vacation — W.H.Whyte
kind of a blend of humor and pathos
d. : the same rank — used of playing cards
four of a kind
5. Christian religion : either of the elements bread or wine used in the Eucharist
Communion is given in one kind only in Germany — C.B.Moss
6.
a. : goods or commodities as distinguished from money
economic measures providing aid in kind rather than in cash — Frank Lorimer
b. : the equivalent of what has been offered or received
reply in kind
it hadn't seemed such a terrible thing to hurt him until she was paid back in kind — William Heuman
7. : amount — used in the phrase that kind of money
he's got to be good to pull down that kind of money — Richard Llewellyn
Synonyms: see type
II. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English kinde, kind, from Old English gecynde, from cynd, gecynd, n.
1. obsolete : consistent with nature : natural , fitting
is but kind for a cock's head to breed a comb — Stephen Gosson
2. now dialect : of a good variety or in thriving condition — used of crops
graft … kind fruits upon thorns — John Hales
the cultivation having been perfect, the barley crop will be kind — S.C.Scrivener
3. now chiefly dialect
a. : of an affectionate nature : fond , intimate
reserve your kind looks and language for private hours — Jonathan Swift
b. : grateful
should declare himself … kind for all those benefits — Homilies
4.
a. : of a sympathetic nature : friendly , obliging
was always kind to the boy — A. Conan Doyle
everyone is so friendly and kind — A.J.McConnell
b. : of a forbearing nature : governed by consideration and compassion : gentle , lenient
naturally you are kind to pets — Boy Scout Handbook
generally was kind in his judgment of me — O.W.Holmes †1935
c. : arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance
a kind act
5. now chiefly dialect
a. : of a pleasant nature : agreeable
the soft green … countryside is so kind to your eyes — Richard Joseph
b. : soft and yielding to the touch
the wool was … kind to handle — Westralian Farmers Co-op Gazette
Synonyms:
kind , kindly , benign , and benignant can mean, in common, having or manifesting a nature that is gentle, considerate, and inclined to benevolent or beneficient actions. kind and kindly , often interchangeable, both suggest gentleness, humaneness, and a sympathetic interest in the welfare of others, kind applying more often to the disposition to sympathy and helpfulness, kindly stressing more the expression of a sympathetic, helpful nature, mood, or impulse
a kind person with a kindly interest in the problems of others
a person kind to animals
the kindly attentions of an elderly stranger
the critics were by no means kind to the play — J.K.Newnham
felt kindly and protective and superior — Christopher Isherwood
benign and benignant stress mildness and mercifulness and apply more often to the acts, utterances, or policies, gracious or patronizing, of a superior rather than an equal
a benign master
the benign rule of a benevolent despot
the transformation of a benign personality into a belligerent one — Lewis Mumford
looked up into his benignant face, as if she had come thither for his pardon and paternal affection — Nathaniel Hawthorne
heaven was divinely merciful, infinitely benignant. It spared him, pardoned his weakness — Virginia Woolf
III. adverb
now dialect : kindly
how kind he puts it — Charles Dickens
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably from kind (I)
obsolete : beget
V. abbreviation
kindergarten