K.
KABBADEorCABADE,Fr.A military dress which is worn by the modern Greeks. According to Tzetzes it derives its name from Cabades, a Persian king. Codinus, on the other hand, asserts, that the Greeks in Constantinople adopted it in imitation of the Assyrians. Others again maintain, that it owes its appellation to the resemblance which it bears to a Greek letter. Father Goar, the author, very justly ridicules this etymology. We are, however, authorized to say, that be the derivation of the word what it may, the dress itself consists of a short garment which was worn underneath another. It had not any folds, but sat close to the body, being buttoned with large buttons, and reaching down to the calves of the legs. It was fringed round the edges, and was usually worn with a girdle; such is the description which Father Goar has given of the kabbades in his notes upon Codinus. He concludes by observing, that in his opinion it is what the Romans calledsagum, and the modern Greeks afterwards corrupted intokabbade.
KAK TOWDA,Ind.Fine mould beat strongly in between two walls, for the purpose of shooting arrows into when the walls are taken away.
KALEE,Ind.An Hindoo deity the genius of evil; the infernal god, to whom human beings are sacrificed.
KALLAATorKELAUT,Ind.a dress which is given to any person invested with a new office.
KALMUCS, (Kalmouques,Fr.) This word is generally writtenCalmucs. They are wandering tribes of Tartars, who inhabit the parts north of the Caspian sea. These hordes frequently put themselves under the protection of the court of Russia. A French writer describes the Kalmucs to be a sort of militia, which is established between Siberia and the Caspian sea. There are generally some regiments of them attached to the Russian armies in common with the Cossacks. They are armed with a lance iron pointed, about six feet long, and carry a bow witha quiver upon their backs, containing ten arrows. They never serve on foot, and are only formidable by name.
KALSA,Ind.The treasury.
KALSA CUTCHERRY,Ind.the room of business, where the business of the army is transacted; and all matters of litigation on that branch of service is determined.
KHAN, an officer in Persia, who is invested with the same powers that are entrusted to an European governor.
KANAUTS,Ind.a term used in India, to express the walls of a canvas tent.
KATAA, the Indian name for China.
KATIK, an Indian month, which in some measure coincides with our month of October.
KAULAUBHAIJE, the Indian term for message.
KECHERKLECHI, guards attached to the person of the king of Persia; they are armed with a musquet of an extraordinary size and calibre. They were raised and formed into a regular corps the middle of the last century.
KEELS, the long boats in which the Saxons successfully invaded England were so called.
KEEP, in ancient military history, a kind of strong tower which was built in the centre of a castle or fort, to which the besieged retreated and made their last efforts of defence. Of this description is the keep of Windsor Castle.
King’sKEEP, a fort built by king Henry II. in the interior part of Dover castle is so called.
ToKEEPoff, in a military sense, is either to deter your enemy from approaching close to the lines or fortifications by inducing him to suspect a superior force, an ambuscade, or a mine, or by openly galling his advanced posts in such a manner as to beat him in detail. Infantry may keep off cavalry by hot firing, or by a compact intrepid direction of the bayonet.
ToKEEPup, in military movements, is the preservation of that regular pace, by which a line or column, on a march, or in manœuvring, advances towards any given point without any chasms or fluctuations. When a regiment marches by files, it is almost impossible for the rear to keep up. On this account, divisions, subdivisions, and even sections, are best calculated to preserve a regular depth and continuity of march.
ToKeepup, likewise signifies to attend to the interior management and discipline of a corps, so as to prevent the least deviation from established rules and regulations. Thus commanding officers are said to keep up good order and discipline, who, whilst absent or present, provide against the least insubordination, &c.
ToKeepup a heavy fire, is to play with heavy ordnance against a fortified place, or body of men, by a calm and well-directed succession of shot. In musquetry firing, officers commanding battalions, divisions, or platoons, should be very exact in giving the word in order to keep up the different firings.
KEERAY,Ind.expences, charges.
KENT. It is the peculiar duty of the county lieutenant, or of three deputy lieutenants belonging to this English county, to issue orders to the chief constables of the several hundreds to send out precepts to the churchwardens or overseers to return a list of men liable to serve. The churchwardens and overseers of the county of Kent are, by act of parliament, invested with the powers of constables, to put in force the militia acts.
KENTASSI, a range of mountains in Thibet, in which are the sources of the Ganges. This river, formed from several sources, passes successively two great lakes, and flows to the west, until the opposition of a part of the Indian Caucasus turns it to the south, and having completed in these various directions a course of two hundred leagues, it enters India by forcing its passage through the mountains of the frontier.
KERANA, a long trumpet, similar in shape and size to the speaking trumpet. The Persians use it whenever they wish to make any extraordinary noise, and they frequently blow it with hautboys, kettle drums and other instruments at sunset, and two hours after midnight.
KEREEF,Ind.One of the two seasons into which the year is divided in India.
KERIMCHARRY,Ind.an inferior officer under the Zemindar, who collects from the villages, and keeps the accounts.
KERN.Irish, a soldier. The Irish infantry were formerly distinguished by this appellation. The men in those days were armed with a sword, and a dart or javelin, which was tied to a small cord, so that after they had thrown it at the enemy, they could instantly recover it, and use it in any way they thought proper. The javelin was calledskene, which is also the Irish for aknife.
KERUI,Ind.a village or parish.
KETTLE, a vessel used to boil composition for fire-works.
KETTLE-Drums. SeeDrums.
Kettle-drum cart, a four wheel carriage which is drawn by four horses, and is used exclusively by the British artillery as a pageant.
The ordnance flag is planted on the fore part, and the drummer with two kettle drums is seated, as in a chair of state, on the back part. This cart is finely engraven and richly gilt. It has not been in the field since the year 1743, when the king was present. It is kept in the tower.
KEYS, in a general sense, are instruments with which locks are opened.
Keys, in artillery carriages, may be considered under three specific heads, viz.
Fore-lockKeys, which serve to pass through the lower end of bolts, in order to fasten them.
SpringKeysmay be used in the same manner, but are differently made, for instead of being of one single piece, they are of two, like two springs laid one over the other. When they are put into eye-bolts, they are pinched together at the ends, and when they are in, they open again; so that the motion of the carriage cannot disturb or shake them out. Spring keys are peculiarly useful in travelling carriages.
Keyswith chains and staplesfixed on the side pieces of a carriage or mortar bed. They serve to fasten the cap squares by passing through the eyes of the eye-bolts, with or without.
Keystone, in architecture, is the middle stone of an arch, by which the sweep of the arch is bound together.
Key. SeeQuay.
KEYSERLICKS, orimperialists, the Austrian troops are frequently called so. The term was indeed common among the British soldiers, when they did duty together, and invaded France in 1794. It is derived fromkeyser, from Caesar, which in German, signifies emperor.
KHAN,Ind.signifies lord or chieftain. This title was given by the king of Delhi, for which it is supposed, the person maintained 250 horse soldiers, which he commanded and disciplined for the king’s service.
KHEET,Ind.a fortified city, which is four coss or eight English miles in length and breadth, and not so much as eight coss.
KHODA,Ind.God.
KHODADAUD SIRCAR,Ind.That is the government or ruler blessed or beloved of God; it was a title assumed by Tippo Sultaun, the sovereign of the kingdom of Mysore, who fell in defence of his capital, Serungputtun, or Seringapatam, when it was stormed, May the 4th, 1799, by the British forces under the command of lieutenant general Harris.
KID. This appellation was formerly given to any person that was trepanned by kidnappers.
KIDNAPPER, a man who by improper means decoys the unwary into the army or navy.
KIEU, the Indian term for any bridge under which water flows.
KILLA,Ind.a castle, fort, or fortress.
KILLADAR,Ind.the governor or commandant of a fort.
KINDALAHS, a vagabond, outcast set of people in India, originally belonging to the Hindoo tribe. By such proscription and disgrace are these miserable creatures marked, that the people of other casts not only will not visit them, but if any one of them should presume to approach a person of the Nayr tribe, it is lawful for the latter to put him to instant death.
ToKINDLE, in a military sense, is to excite mankind to arms. To kindle the flames of war is a familiar expression.
KINGfrom the Saxonkoning, that iscunning,wise; it has come to bear a different sense, and to signify a person neither cunning nor wise; a person in whom a supreme or qualified authority is vested without the consent of a nation. The chief magistrate, and one of the three nominal parts of the British government.
In a military acceptation of the term, the king of Great Britain is captain general of the British army, the primary source from which all appointments in it are derived, and the last resort of naval and military jurisdiction. With him, as principal magistrate in the state, and head of the executive power, all the arrangements of the British army finally rest, as from him they primarily issued. From him all the effective forces derive energy and effect, and when war has been declared, to him only does the army look for the immediate application and general exercise of its powers, through the medium of the ministers he appoints, who are responsible to parliament for the manner in which the authority they have received has been executed.
The British king is likewise supreme head of the militia, and has the power of appointing or dismissing lieutenants of counties. This king may likewise order three deputy lieutenants to act, when the lieutenant is abroad, or when there is a vacancy. He may join independent companies into a battalion, or incorporate them with any other regiment; and by him only can adjutants be appointed to act in the militia. If they are selected from the regular army, they preserve their rank, and their new commission bears the sign manual.
In case of an invasion or rebellion, the British king has the power to order the county lieutenants to embody the militia, and to put it under general officers from the regular army. On these occasions he may issue a proclamation for the meeting of parliament in fourteen days.
The word king is synonymous withmonarch,tyrant,despot, and an emperor is only a higher grade of king.
KINGat Arms. SeeHerald.
KIOSQUE,Fr.a sort of garden pavillion which is open on all sides. It is used in the Levant, particularly in Turkey, and at Constantinople.
KISSELBACHES,Ind.soldiers are so called in India.
KIST,Ind.an instalment; the amount of a stated payment.
KISTYBUNDY, the Indian term for a monthly payment or periodical instalment.
KITSBUNDY, a contract or agreement for the discharge of any debt or obligation by stated payments.
KIT, in laboratory works, a composition made, of rosin 9lb. pitch 6lb. bees wax 6lb. and tallow 1lb. used for the last covering of carcasses. In order to apply it properly, it must first be broken into small pieces, and put into an iron pot over the fire, where it must be kept stirring about until it be thoroughly dissolved. When rendered very hot and completely liquid, it may be used.
Kitis likewise used among dragoons, to signify their lot of necessaries, which is packed up in a very small compass. The term is also used by the infantry, and means the contents of a soldier’s knapsack.
KLINKETS, in fortification, are small gates made through pallisades for the purpose of sallying.
KNAPSACK, a rough leather or canvas bag, which is strapped to an infantry soldier’s back when he marches, and which contains his necessaries. Square knapsacks are supposed to be most convenient. They should be made with a division to hold the shoes, blacking-balls, and brushes, separate from the linen. White goat skins are sometimes used, but we do not conceive them to be equal to the painted canvas ones. Soldiers are put under stoppages for the payment of their knapsacks, which after five years, become their property. See list of necessaries, according to the last regulations, under the articleNecessaries.
KNAVE, for its military acceptation, seeInfantry.
KNIGHT, a person who, in ancient times, on account of some eminent service, civil or military, was singled out from the common class of gentlemen, &c. and was personally invested with a title. This word, which was originally derived from the German and Dutchknechtorkneht, signifies a servant, in which sense it is applied when we speak of the knight of a shire; it likewise means a military man, or rather a horseman, from the Latineques, a soldier or horseman; knights of this description having been either the king’s domestic servants or of his life guards.
In common law they are calledmilites, usually holding lands under the feudal tenure by knight’s service, to serve the king in his wars.
KNOT, the wing or epaulette, which is commonly made of worsted, of a non-commissioned officer or corporal. When serjeants and corporals are sentenced to be reduced to the ranks, the knot is generally cut off by the drum-major in the presence of the battalion, as a mark of ignominy.
Knots, the division of the log line. Each knot is equal to an English mile.
KNOUT, a Russian punishment.
KOHISTAN,Ind.properly means a province. It likewise signifies a rocky or mountainous country.
KOLLEEJogue,Ind.is the fourth of the four æras or periods of Indian chronology. It is the present æra, in which all mankind are corrupted, or rather lessened; it is supposed to be ordained to subsist four hundred thousand years, of which near five thousand are already expired, and the life of man, in that period is limited to one hundred years.Colonel Dowsays this age is to last thirty-six thousand years: the age which preceded it, is called thedavapaar jogue.
KOOLOO,Ind.the cocoa tree.
KOONAR, an Indian month, which partly coincides with our month of September.
KOONCHY,Ind.a measure of about eight handfuls.
KOONWUR,Ind.prince, highness.
KOREISH,Ind.an Arabian tribe.
KORTCHI-BACHI, the chief or commanding officer of the Kortchis. In former times he was the first military character in Persia, at present he is only the second in command. He never leaves the court except upon extraordinary occasions, when his presence is required at the army. This, however, rarely happens, as the king is obliged to furnish him with an household service of plate, and to detach a part of his own guards for the protection of his person. The Kortchi Bachi is generally entrusted with one of the chief governments belonging to Persia.
KORTCHIS, a body of Persian cavalry, which is stationed along the frontiers of the country. Every individual belonging to this corps, receives fifty crowns for his annual pay. The children of the Kortchis succeed their fathers, with the consent and approbation of the general. The Kortchis are descended from a race of foreigners, who used to live under tents, and were always distinguished for their courage.
KOSSACKS, (Kosaques,Fr.) SeeCossacks.
KOTE,Ind.a warehouse.
KOULER-AGASI, a distinguished military character in Persia, who has the command of a body of men calledKouls. He is usually governor of a considerable province.
KOULIE, a courier, a porter, a slave.
KOURIE,Ind.a sea-shell used as money in many parts of India.
KOULS, a corps of Persian soldiers who rank as a third body among the five that constitute the king’s household troops; they mount guard under the portico which stands between the first and second gate leading to the palace. The Kouls are men of note and rank; no person can arrive at any considerable post or situation, who has not served among the Kouls. Their number is computed at 4000 men.
KOYAL,Ind.a weighman.
KOYALEE,Ind.fees for weighing.
KRAMA,Ind.wooden sandals which are worn by the natives of India during the wet season.
KUFFEET,Ind.An Indian term for security.
KUL, the Turkish word for slave to the prince. The grand vizier, the bachas, the beiglerbeys, and all persons who receive pay or subsistence from situations dependent upon the crown, are so called. This title is in high estimation among the Turkish military, as it authorizes all who are invested with it, to insult, strike and otherways ill use the common people, without being responsible for the most flagrant breach of humanity. Horrid pre-eminence, and fitted only to Mahomedan civilization!
KULLUSTAUNS,Ind.Christians.
KUNDNEE,Ind.A sum of money which is annually paid by an inferior governor to his superior.
KUPELE, Straights so called in India, through which the Ganges disembogues itself into Hindustan. They are distant from Delhi about 30 leagues, in the longitude of 96, and in the latitude of 30.2. These straights are believed by the Indians, who look very little abroad, to be the sources of the Ganges: and a rock 15 miles distant from them, bearing some resemblance to the head of a cow, has joined in the same part of the nations, two very important objects of their religion: the grand image of the animal which they almost venerate as a divinity, and the first appearance of that immense body of holy water which washes away all their sins. It was at these straights that the Indians made some shew of resistance, when the famous Tamerlane invaded India. The field of this victory is the most distant term of that emperor’s conquest in India and on the globe. See Dissertation on the establishments made by Mahomedan conquerors in Hindustan, in Orme’s History of the Carnatic, page 14, and 15.
KURROL,Ind.The advanced guard of a main army.
KURTCHI, a militia is so called in Persia. It consists of one body of cavalry, which is composed of the first nobility belonging to the kingdom, and of the lineal descendants of the Turkish conquerors, who placed Ismael Sophi on the throne. They wear a red turban, made of particular stuff, into twelve folds. This turban was originally given them by Ismael, in consideration of their attachment to the religion and family of Ali. The twelve folds are in remembrance of the twelve Imaans or Mahomedan preachers who descended in a direct line from Ali, and distinguished themselves so much in that sect. The turban is red, for the purpose of provoking those who wear it to avenge upon the Ottomans, the death of Ali and Hussein, who were murdered by the chief of Sunis, to whose sect the Turks belong. In consequence of their wearing this turban, the Persians are always called by the Turkskitil-baschiorred-heads. The noblemen in Persia have adopted the term, with a slight alteration, and call themselveskesil-baschisorgolden-heads. The Kurtchi form a body of nearly eighteen thousand men. The chief or commanding officer is called kurtchi-baschi. This was formerly the most distinguished situation in the kingdom, and the authority annexed to it was equal to what the constable of France originally possessed. At present his power does not extend beyond the Kurtchis.
KUSH-BASH,Ind.Persons who enjoy lands rent free, upon condition of serving government in a military capacity when called upon. The term also signifies, people of middling circumstances who do not cultivate their lands themselves, but hire servants to do it while they hold other employments.
KUTTY,Ind.Closets.
KUVVAUS,Ind.Servants attending on the king’s person.
KUZANA,Ind.A treasury.