kidney
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kidney¹
- /ˈkɪdni/
- [ˈkɪdnɪi̯]
Rhymes with -ɪdni
Where it comes from
From Middle English kideney, kydeney, alteration of earlier kidenere (“kidney”) after ey (“egg”), of obscure origin and formation. Probably a compound consisting of Middle English *kidde (“sack”) + Middle English nere (“kidney”). The first element would be from Old English *cydde (“sack, scrotum”), from Proto-Germanic *kuddijā (“sack”), as the terms for testicle and kidney were often interchangeable in Germanic (compare Old High German nioro (“kidney", also "testicle”), Old Swedish vig-niauri (“testicle”)); the second is from Old English *nēora or Middle Low German nêre (“kidney”), from Proto-West Germanic *neurō, from Proto-Germanic *neurô (“kidney”), from Proto-Indo-European *negʷʰr- (“kidney”). If so, then related to dialectal English near (“kidney”), Scots neir (“kidney”), Saterland Frisian Njuure (“kidney”), West Frisian nier (“kidney”), Dutch nier (“kidney”), German Niere (“kidney”), Danish nyre (“kidney”), Norwegian nyre (“kidney”), Swedish njure (“kidney”), Ancient Greek νεφρός (nephrós, “kidney”).
An alternate etymology traces the first element to Old English cwiþ, cwiþa (“belly, womb, stomach”), though the loss of /w/ in a stressed syllable is difficult to explain.
noun kidneys
- An organ in the body that filters the blood, producing urine. The liver and the kidneys of animals have long been gastronomically popular for their aphrodisiac properties.
- This organ (of an animal) cooked as food.
- Constitution, temperament, nature, type, character, disposition. (usually used of people) […] think of that, – a man of my kidney, – think of that, […]
- A waiter. I once more desire my readers to consider that as I cannot keep an ingenious man to go daily to Will's under twopence each day merely for his charges, to White's under sixpence, nor to the Grecian without allowing him some plain Spanish, to be as able as others at the learned table; and that a good
Kidney²
Where it comes from
From a mistranslation of Irish Ó Dubháin (“descendant of Dubhán”) (directly rendered in English as Duane), a personal name from a diminutive of dubh (“black”). This was confused with dubhán (“kidney”), which in fact is a derivative of dubh (“black”).
proper noun Kidneys
- A surname from Irish.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: renal, liver, hepatic, dialysis, dose, giraffe, lnt, transplant, macro, rooster, rim, bean, waist, mere, narrow, arc
Translations
Every language
noun an organ in the body
| Español | riñón |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 콩팥 kongpat, 신장 sinjang |
| 日本語 | 腎臓 jinzō |
| 中文 | 腎臟 /肾脏 shènzàng, 腎 /肾 shèn, 腰子 yāozi |
| हिन्दी | गुर्दा gurdā |
| Kiswahili | figo |
| Português | rim |
| Français | rein |
| Deutsch | Niere |
| Italiano | rene |
| Ελληνικά | νεφρό nefró |
| Română | rinichi |
| Русский | по́чка póčka |
| Tiếng Việt | thận |
| العربية | كُلْيَة kulya |
| עברית | כִּלְיָה kilya, כְּלָיוֹת klayót |
Talk about this word "kidney." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kidney. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. kidney. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kidney "kidney." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kidney.Cite this
@misc{kidney_2026,
title = {kidney},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kidney},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
