kemosabe

K5E1M3O1S1A1B3E1
/ˌkiːmoʊˈsɑ(ː)biː//ˌkiːməˈsɑ(ː)biː/

noun

An appellation given to a wise, trustworthy friend.

Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounkemosabe (plural not attested)

alternative kemosabi · alternative kemo sabe · alternative ke-mo sah-bee

  1. colloquialno pluralAn appellation given to a wise, trustworthy friend.

    Wanna get a beer? / Nah. / Come on. Let's get a beer. / Okay, leave me alone, leave me alone. / Don't stay up too late, kemosabe.

    2019, Edward Norton, Motherless Brooklyn, spoken by Tony, Lionel (Bobby Cannavale, Edward Norton)

Origin

Coined for the 1938 Lone Ranger television serial. Further etymology uncertain: *Some trace the word through the Kee-Mo Sah-Bee summer camp in Michigan to Ojibwe giimoozaabi (“he spies”). See more at Wikipedia. *Alternatively, from a corruption of Spanish quien lo sabe "(he) who knows".

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kemosabe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kemosabe

MLA

“kemosabe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kemosabe. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kemosabe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kemosabe.

Source: kemosabe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.