kick

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To hit something with your foot.

   He kicked the ball into the net.

2. 2
   noun

   An act of hitting something with your foot.

   She gave the ball a powerful kick.

3. 3
   noun

   A feeling of excitement or pleasure (informal).

   He gets a real kick out of fast cars.

4. 4
   verb

   To stop doing something harmful, especially a habit.

   It took him years to kick his smoking habit.

Multiword verbs with kick

• kick around Phrasal verb B1

  to discuss ideas informally without making a final decision

Appears in

Simplified etymology

The origin of kick is uncertain. Old Norse kikna, meaning “bend backwards” or “sink at the knees,” has been proposed as a possible source, but the connection is not established.

From Middle English kyken (“to strike out with the foot”), from Old Norse kikna (“to sink at the knees”) and keikja (“to bend backwards”) (compare Old Norse keikr (“bent backwards, the belly jutting forward”)), from Proto-Germanic *kaikaz (“bent backwards”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kī-, *kij- (“to split, dodge, swerve sidewards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyH- (“to sprout, shoot”). Compare also Dutch kijken (“to look”), Middle Low German kīken (“to look, watch”). See keek.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary