- K
[K 词源字典] - Roman letter, from Greek kappa, ultimately from Phoenician and general Semitic kaph, said to be literally "hollow of the hand," so called for its shape. For more on the history of its use, see C. As a symbol for potassium, it represents Latin kalium "potash." Slang meaning "one thousand dollars" is 1970s, from kilo-. K as a measure of capacity (especially in computer memory) meaning "one thousand" also is an abbreviation of kilo-. As an indication of "strikeout" in baseball scorekeeping it dates from 1874, said to be from last letter of struck, perhaps because first letter already was being used as abbreviation for sacrifice. The invention of the scorecard symbols is attributed to U.S. newspaperman Henry Chadwick (1824-1908) of the old New York "Clipper."
Smith was the first striker, and went out on three strikes, which is recorded by the figure "1" for the first out, and the letter K to indicate how put out, K being the last letter of the word "struck." The letter K is used in this instance as being easier to remember in connection with the word struck than S, the first letter, would be. [Henry Chadwick, "Chadwick's Base Ball Manual," London, 1874]
[K etymology, K origin, 英语词源] - leaflet (n.)
- 1787 as a term in botany; 1867 as a term in printing and publication; diminutive of leaf (n.) with -let.
A newspaperman asked the British authorities for a copy of the leaflets distributed in Germany by British airplanes. According to the London Daily Herald, his request was refused with the following answer: "Copies are not given out, as they might fall into enemy hands." ["The Living Age" magazine, Sept. 1939-Feb. 1940]
- waterfront (n.)
- also water-front, 1834, American English, from water (n.1) + front (n.). To cover the waterfront "deal with thoroughly" is attested from 1913; I Cover the Waterfront was a 1932 best-seller by San Diego newspaperman Max Miller.
