Meanings
plural kibes
- archaicpoeticrareA chilblain (often ulcerated), especially on the heel of the foot (also afflictive to some animals); a cold sore or blister.
By the Lord, Horatio, this three years I have took note of it, the age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier he galls his kibe.
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- substrate
- Englishkibe
Origin unknown, but first attested in Middle English. suggested origins and context Attestations in Shakespeare's time seem to suggest it was intended as mildly vulgar (compare zit) and metaphorical; see more at this Open Literature article, which claims Welsh as most probable origin: * Compare Welsh cibi, cibwst (“chilblain(s)”), although this itself may borrow from Middle English, and we may be dealing with some ancient unknown term. Compare English gyve (“schackles”), a medieval word that might also take from Celtic. There has been further theoretical conjecture as well: * Assuming the origin English or Welsh derived from is pre-Celtic, some have speculated a link to an Old European word from a British Vasconic substrate, in this case related to Basque gibiztin (“knot, bow”), compounded from a lost root *gibi, *kibi (“lump?”).
More words from substrate
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Rhymes with kibe
Anagrams
Cite this entry
kibe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kibe
“kibe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kibe. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kibe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kibe.
Source: kibe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.