Random Image

You are here: Random Image > Words beginning with k > Random Image for knyaz

Possible definitions for knyaz

Kaya
Tribal league formed sometime before the 3rd cent. AD in S Korea and lasting until its subjugation to Silla in the 6th cent. The people of Kaya are thought to have been closely related to the tribes that crossed over from Korea to Japan a century or two earlier, and Kaya often enlisted Japan in its feuds with neighboring Silla and Paekche. The Kaya people invented a unique 12-stringed zither, the kayagum.


kayak
Type of canoe covered by a deck except for a cockpit in which the paddler sits. It has a pointed bow and stern and no keel; the paddler faces forward, grasping a double-bladed paddle and dipping the blades alternately on either side. Usually built for one occupant, it can be designed for two or three. Kayaks were traditionally used for fishing and hunting by Eskimos, who stretched seal or other animal skins over a driftwood or whalebone frame and rubbed the skins with animal fat for waterproofing. The paddler wore an overlapping shield to allow the kayak to be righted without taking on water if it rolled over. Now often made of molded plastic or fiberglass, kayaks are widely used for recreation.


Kenya
Republic, E Africa. It is bounded by Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, the Indian Ocean, Tanzania, and Uganda. Area: 224,961 sq mi (582,646 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 28,803,000. Capital: Nairobi. With a small group of European settlers' descendents, there are 30-40 ethnic groups, incl. the Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kamba, Kalenjin, and Masai. Languages: Swahili, English (both official); others belonging to the Bantu, Nilotic, and Cushitic language groups. Religions: Christianity, animism, Islam, Hinduism. Currency: shilling. Kenya can be divided into five regions: the Lake Victoria basin in the SW corner; the vast plateau of E Kenya; the 250-mi (400-km) coastal belt along the Indian Ocean; the highlands of the Mau Escarpment on the W side of the Rift Valley in W Kenya; and the highlands and mountains of the Aberdare Range on the E side of the Rift Valley, incl. Mt. Kenya. It is noted for such wildlife as lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, zebra, hippopotamus, and crocodile. Only about 4% of the land is arable, and about 7% of the land is used for grazing cattle, goats, and sheep. Agriculture employs four-fifths of the workforce, and tea and coffee are the leading exports. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. The coastal region was dominated by Arabs until it was seized by the Portuguese in the 16th cent. The Masai people held sway in the north and moved into central Kenya in the 18th cent., while the Kikuyu expanded from their home region in S central Kenya. The interior was explored by European missionaries in the 19th cent. After the British took control, Kenya was established as a British protectorate (1890) and a crown colony (1920). The Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s was directed against European colonialism. In ...

Top words beginning with K: kations, kovrov, kok, kyanized, kincardine, keratoidea, kennecott, krigia, klopstock, kipskins, konkani, kronur, kathuria, karstic, krp, kilnman, kraken, kooletah, knurling, kachcha

More words beginning with K.

Browse the alphabet: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z