12-letter words containing k, o, t
- kashmir goat — one of a long-haired breed of goat raised in Tibet and the higher elevations of China, the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and Turkey for its meat, milk, and cashmere wool.
- katamorphism — metamorphism at or near the earth's surface: breaks down complex minerals into simpler ones.
- katharevousa — The purist form of modern Greek used in traditional literary writing, as opposed to the form that is spoken and used in everyday writing (called demotic).
- katharometer — (science) A device used for analyzing gas mixtures by measuring their thermal conductivity.
- keep tabs on — a small flap, strap, loop, or similar appendage, as on a garment, used for pulling, hanging, or decoration.
- ken thompson — (person) The principal inventor of the Unix operating system and author of the B language, the predecessor of C. In the early days Ken used to hand-cut Unix distribution tapes, often with a note that read "Love, ken". Old-timers still use his first name (sometimes uncapitalised, because it's a login name and mail address) in third-person reference; it is widely understood (on Usenet in particular) that without a last name "Ken" refers only to Ken Thompson. Similarly, Dennis without last name means Dennis Ritchie (and he is often known as dmr). Ken was first hired to work on the Multics project, which was a huge production with many people working on it. Multics was supposed to support hundreds of on-line logins but could barely handle three. In 1969, when Bell Labs withdrew from the project, Ken got fed up with Multics and went off to write his own operating system. People said "well, if zillions of people wrote Multics, then an OS written by one guy must be Unix!". There was some joking about eunichs as well. Ken's wife Bonnie and son Corey (then 18 months old) went to visit family in San Diego. Ken spent one week each on the kernel, file system, etc., and finished UNIX in one month along with developing SPACEWAR (or was it "Space Travel"?). See also back door, brute force, demigod, wumpus.
- kenny method — a method of treating poliomyelitis, in which hot, moist packs are applied to affected muscles to relieve spasms and pain, and a regimen of exercises is prescribed to prevent deformities and to strengthen the muscles.
- keratinocyte — An epidermal cell that produces keratin.
- keratogenous — producing horn or a horny substance.
- keratohyalin — (biology) A protein structure found in granules in the stratum granulosum of the epidermis, which may be involved in keratinization, and in Hassall corpuscles in the thymus.
- keratoplasty — plastic surgery performed upon the cornea, especially a corneal transplantation.
- keratotomies — Plural form of keratotomy.
- ketoacidosis — (pathology) A severe form of ketosis, most commonly seen in diabetics, in which so much ketone is produced that acidosis occurs.
- ketoaciduria — (pathology) The presence of (excess) ketoacids in the urine.
- ketoconazole — a synthetic substance, C 26 H 28 Cl 2 N 4 O 4 , used to treat a variety of fungal infections.
- ketone group — the characteristic group occurring in ketones that consists of the carbonyl group attached to two alkyl groups.
- keyboardists — Plural form of keyboardist.
- keystone kop — Usually, Keystone Kops. (in early silent movies) a team of comic policemen noted for their slapstick routines.
- khornerstone — A multipurpose benchmark from Workstation Labs used in various periodicals. The source is not free. Results are published in "UNIX Review".
- kidney stone — an abnormal stone, or concretion, composed primarily of oxalates and phosphates, found in the kidney.
- kinetography — a camera for taking pictures for a kinetoscope.
- kinetoplasts — Plural form of kinetoplast.
- king's scout — (in Great Britain) a boy scout who has achieved the highest level of scouting: similar to the U.S. eagle scout.
- kitchen foil — aluminium foil used in cooking or storing food
- kitchen soap — heavy-duty soap intended for use in the kitchen
- kite balloon — a barrage balloon intended for use in information-gathering and observation; it is usually tethered to the ground and has lobes to keep it stable and pointing into the wind
- kiteboarding — A sport in which participants ride a form of wakeboard or surfboard harnessed to a large kite which is controlled by the rider.
- kittikachorn — Thanom [thah-nom] /θɑˈnɒm/ (Show IPA), 1911–2004, Thai army officer and statesman: premier 1963–73.
- kitty-corner — diagonal.
- klein bottle — a one-sided figure consisting of a tapered tube the narrow end of which is bent back, run through the side of the tube, and flared to join the wide end, thereby allowing any two points on the figure to be joined by an unbroken line.
- kleptocratic — a government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves.
- kleptomaniac — a person who has kleptomania.
- knightlihood — Quality of being knightly.
- knock it off — stop it
- know-nothing — an ignorant or totally uninformed person; ignoramus.
- korea strait — a strait between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. 120 miles (195 km) long.
- kosher-style — (of a cuisine, restaurant, etc.) featuring traditional Jewish dishes, but not adhering to the dietary laws: kosher-style cooking.
- kourotrophos — (archaeology) a class of Mycenaean terracotta figurines depicting women carrying children.
- koussevitzky — Serge [sairzh] /sɛərʒ/ (Show IPA), (Sergei Alexandrovich Koussevitsky) 1874–1951, Russian orchestra conductor in the U.S.
- kurchatovium — (chemistry) A rejected name for rutherfordium.
- labor market — the available supply of labor considered with reference to the demand for it.
- lake balaton — a large shallow lake in W Hungary. Area: 689 sq km (266 sq miles)
- lake ontario — a province in S Canada, bordering on the Great Lakes. 412,582 sq. mi. (1,068,585 sq. km). Capital: Toronto.
- lake station — a town in NW Indiana.
- lake torrens — a shallow salt lake in E central South Australia, about 8 m (25 ft) below sea level. Area: 5776 sq km (2230 sq miles)
- lancet clock — a mantel clock having a case formed like an acutely pointed arch.
- leon trotsky — Leon (Lev or Leib, Davidovich Bronstein) 1879–1940, Russian revolutionary and writer: minister of war 1918–25.
- letter stock — unregistered stock sold privately by a company so as not to have a negative effect on the price of its publicly traded stock.
- leukocytosis — an increase in the number of white blood cells in the blood.
- leukotrienes — Plural form of leukotriene.