1.
[syn: kidney stone, urinary calculus, nephrolith, renal calculus]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Kidney \Kid"ney\ (k[i^]d"n[y^]), n.; pl. Kidneys
(k[i^]d"n[i^]z). [OE. kidnei, kidnere, from Icel. koi[eth]r
belly, womb (akin to Goth. gipus, AS. cwi[thorn] womb) + OE.
nere kidney; akin to D. nier, G. niere, OHG. nioro, Icel.
n[=y]ra, Dan. nyre, Sw. njure, and probably to Gr. nefro`s
Cf. Kite belly.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Anat.) A glandular organ which excretes urea and other
waste products from the animal body; a urinary gland.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In man and in other mammals there are two kidneys, one
on each side of vertebral column in the back part of
the abdomen, each kidney being connected with the
bladder by a long tube, the ureter, through which the
urine is constantly excreted into the bladder to be
periodically discharged.
[1913 Webster]
2. Habit; disposition; sort; kind; as, a man of a different
kidney. --Shak.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
There are in later times other decrees, made by
popes of another kidney. --Barrow.
[1913 Webster]
Millions in the world of this man's kidney.
--L'Estrange.
[1913 Webster]
Your poets, spendthrifts, and other fools of that
kidney, pretend, forsooth, to crack their jokes on
prudence. --Burns.
[1913 Webster]
Note: This use of the word perhaps arose from the fact that
the kidneys and the fat about them are an easy test of
the condition of an animal as to fatness. "Think of
that, -- a man of my kidney; -- . . . as subject to
heat as butter." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. A waiter. [Old Cant] --Tatler.
[1913 Webster]
Floating kidney. See Wandering kidney, under Wandering.
Kidney bean (Bot.), a sort of bean; -- so named from its
shape. It is of the genus Phaseolus (Phaseolus
vulgaris). See under Bean.
Kidney ore (Min.), a variety of hematite or iron
sesquioxide, occurring in compact kidney-shaped masses.
Kidney stone. (Min.) See Nephrite, and Jade.
Kidney vetch (Bot.), a leguminous herb of Europe and Asia
(Anthyllis vulneraria), with cloverlike heads of red or
yellow flowers, once used as a remedy for renal disorders,
and also to stop the flow of blood from wounds;
lady's-fingers. Kidney-form
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Renal calculus \Renal calculus\ (Med.),
an abnormal concretion formed in the excretory passages of
the kidney, composed primarily of calcium oxalates and
phosphates; -- also called kidney stone, nephrolith, and
nephritic calculus (an obsolete term).
[PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
kidney stone
n 1: a calculus formed in the kidney [syn: kidney stone,
urinary calculus, nephrolith, renal calculus]