kinicacid

[QUINIC-ACID.] ki-nix-ys, s. [Gr. kineō =to move, and ixys =the waist.] Zool .: A genus of land tortoises. Three species have been described; the best known is Kinixys home an a , from Demerara and Guadaloupe. kink (1), s . [Dut. & Sw., from the same root as Icel. kikna to sink at the knees; keikr =bent backward; keikja =to bend backward; kengr =a crook, a bight; Norw. kika to writhe; keika =to bend back or aside; kink a to writhe, to twist; kink =a twist.] I. Literally : 1. Music : A twist in a catgut string from close laying, which, by uncoiling and weakening that part of the string in which it occurs, frequently makes it usele for the instrument for which it is intended. 2436 2. Naut .: A sharp bend in a rope or cable which prevents its reeving through a block or a hole, or in a hose, preventing water pa ing through it. II. Fig .: A crotchet, a whim, a caprice.