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kelvin

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kelvin¹

  • /ˈkɛlvɪn/ UK
  • /ˈkɛlvɪn/ US
  • /ˈkɛlvən/ US
  • [ˈkʰɛɫvɨn] US

Rhymes with -ɛlvɪn, -ɛlvən

Where it comes from

Named after Irish-born Scottish physicist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin.

noun kelvins

  1. In the International System of Units, the base unit of thermodynamic temperature; ¹⁄_(273.16) of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. Ice melts above 273.15 kelvins.

    Similar: degree Kelvin, degree absolute

  2. One degree of difference on this scale, as a unit interval. The dew point here today is only 1 kelvin above what it was yesterday.

    Similar: degree Kelvin, degree absolute

  3. A measurement of color warmth defined by the temperature kelvin at which an incandescent blackbody would emit a given color.

Kelvin²

  • /ˈkɛlvɪn/

Sounds like kelvin · Rhymes with -ɛlvɪn

Where it comes from

Of Celtic/Scottish Gaelic origin, possibly from caol (“narrow”) or coille (“wooded”) + abhainn (“river”). The surname is derived from the river.

The surname was also possibly influenced by Calvert (Middle English calfhirde).

proper noun

  1. A river which flows through East Dunbartonshire council area and Glasgow council area, Scotland, to the River Clyde.
  2. A locality in the Griffith council area, central New South Wales, Australia.
  3. A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
  4. A male given name transferred from the surname, of rather rare usage.

noun Kelvins

  1. Alternative letter-case form of kelvin

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: k, joule, planck, varley, voigt, degrees, helmholtz, milli, kilokelvin, degree kelvin, nanokelvin, kilo, picokelvin, kilogram, degree rankine, degree absolute

Translations

Every language

noun SI temperature unit

Españolkelvin
한국어켈빈 kelbin
日本語ケルビン kerubin
中文開爾文 /开尔文 kāi'ěrwén
हिन्दीकैल्विन kailvin
Portuguêskelvin
Françaiskelvin
DeutschKelvin
Ελληνικάκέλβιν kélvin
Românăkelvin
Русскийке́львин kélʹvin
Tiếng Việtkenvin
العربيةكِلْفِن kilfin
עבריתקלווין

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Cite this
MLA

"kelvin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kelvin. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

kelvin. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kelvin

Chicago

"kelvin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kelvin.

BibTeX
@misc{kelvin_2026,
  title = {kelvin},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kelvin},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}