Defintions

There is a point in the book, "Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance", in which the author, Robert Persig, tries to explain to his travelling companions John and Silvia why he is having trouble taking his son Chris, who is exhibiting signs of mental 'illness' to a psychiatrist. As he explains to Silvia he is experiencing a mental block.

     "I don't know why . . . it's just that . . . I don't know . . . they're not kin." . . . Surprising word, I think to myself, never used it before. Not of kin . . . sounds like hillbilly talk . . . not of a kind . . . same root . . . kindness, too . . . they can't have real kindness toward him, they're not his kin. . . . that's exactly the feeling.     Old word, so ancient it's almost drowned out. What a change through the centuries. Now anybody can be "kind." And everybody is supposed to be. Except that long ago it was something you were born into and couldn't help. Now it's just a faked up attitude half the time, like teachers the first day of class. But what do they really know of kindness who are not kin?      
Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, pg.54-55; 1984 Bantam Paperback Edition
 




All definitions on this page from the 1973 Heritage Illustrated Dictionary Of The English Language, International Edition.


kin  n. One's relatives collectively; family, kindred; kins-folk.  --next of kin.  The person or persons closest in blood relationship.  --adj.  Related; akin.  [Middle English kin(n), kyn, Old English cyn(n). See gene- in Appendix.'*]
-kin.  Indicated small or diminutive; for example, bodkin, lambkin.  [Middle English, from Middle Dutch  -kin,  -kjin,  from West Germanic  -kin (unattested).]


kind[1]  adj. kinder, kindest.  1. Of a friendly nature; generous or hospitable; warmhearted; good.  2. Charitable; helpful; showing sympathy or understanding: a kind word.  3. Humane; considerate: kind to animals.  4. Forbearing; tolerant; charitable: very kind about the broken window.  5. Courteous; thoughtful; Thank you for your kind reply.  6. Generous, liberal: his kind words of praise.  7.  Informal.
Agreeable; beneficial: a soap kind to the skin.   [Middle English kynde, kind, Old English gecynde, natural, innate. See gene- in Appendix.*]


kind[2]  n.  1. Variety; sort; type: the kind of people who are cheerful in the morning.  2. A class or category of similar or related individuals: what kind of dog is that?  3. Rare. Mode of action; manner; way: He was successful in his kind.  4. Archaic. Nature within an order. --See synonyms at type. --a kind of. A rough approximation of the category expressed: a kind of shelter. --differ in kind. To be differ in nature, not simply in degree. --in kind.  1. With produce or commodities rather than with money: pay in kind.  2. In the same manner or something equivalent; accordingly: returned the slight in kind. --kind of. Informal. Somewhat: I'm kind of hungry.   [Middle English kynd(e), kind(e), Old English cynd, gecynd(e), birth, nature, race. See gene- in Appendix.*]



kindred  n. 1. A group of related persons; a family, clan, tribe, or the like. 2. A person's relatives; kinsfolk; family.  --adj.  1. Of the same ancestry of family: kindred clans. 2. Having a similar or related origin, nature, character, or the like: "The youth studied the faces of his companions, ever on the watch to detect kindred emotions" (Stephen Crane).  [Middle English kin(d)red(e), kinraden : KIN + -rede, from Old English raeden, condition, rule, from raedon, to advise, rule, read (see ar-  in Appendix*).]  --kindredness n.

Please note: In some instances I have been unable to render the font exactly as it is in the original text. i.e. when rendering phones and phonemes.

   


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