kek

See also: Appendix:Variations of "kek"

English

Etymology

ㅋㅋㅋ (keukeukeu) is the childish Korean equivalent of the English "haha". Since this is often used in StarCraft matches, Blizzard, StarCraft’s developers, decided to reference it in World of Warcraft: when a player of the Horde faction types "lol" using the /say messaging command, members of the opposing faction see it as "kek".^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kɛk/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -ɛk

Interjection

kek

(Internet slang, video games) Used to indicate laughter or humour.
- 2007 October 13, The Cynic [username], “Re: Nobel Peace belong to me.”, in alt.politics.bush‎^[7] (Usenet):
  Now Freakie boy, for a tasty doggie biscuit, can you try saying that again without any grammatical error?
  kek kek kek kek kek
- 2013 December 11, Steve Nickolas, “Re: 1984 Apple IIe Owner's Manual”, in comp.sys.apple2‎^[8] (Usenet):
  Top kek.
  
  I can't believe Apple would derp like THAT, at least the Apple of the mid-1980s.
- 2014 February 19, Checkmate [username] (quoting [Tor] Friendly Neighborhood Vote> Wrangler Emeritus [username]), “Checkmate's Discount House of Spatulas”, in alt.usenet.kooks‎^[9] (Usenet):
  > "an hour or two a day" "chasing old Checkmate posts."
  >
  >kek

Usage notes

Since 2016, the term kek has been associated with some sectors of the American white supremacist alt-right movement.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Derived terms

Translations

indication of laughter or humour

French: mdr (fr)
Korean: ㅋㅋ (ko) (keukeu)
Russian: кек (ru) (kek)

Verb

kek (third-person singular simple present keks, present participle kekking or keking, simple past and past participle kekked or keked or kek'd)

(Internet slang) To laugh.

Synonyms

LOL

References

^ Sarkar, Samit (2017 September 14) “Bungie explains how Destiny 2 armor resembling hate symbol made it into the game”, in Polygon, retrieved August 4, 2018
^ Moomaw, Graham (2017 February 16) “In Charlottesville, GOP candidate for governor Corey Stewart allies with alt-right-inspired blogger who wants to protect 'glorious Western civilization'”, in Richmond Times-Dispatch‎^[1]
^ Mardell, Mark (2016 September 22) “Naked Nigel, the God Kek and modern politics”, in BBC News‎^[2]
^ King, James (2016 November 22) “Cucks & Kek: Racism's Old Guard Reaches Out To An Online Generation”, in Vocativ‎^[3], archived from the original on 11 November 2020
^ Lock, Colm (2016 December 1) “Harambe and the magic of memes”, in The Mancunion‎^[4], retrieved February 26, 2017
^ Harkinson, Josh (2016 October 27) “Meet the White Nationalist Trying To Ride The Trump Train to Lasting Power”, in Mother Jones‎^[5]
^ Hathaway, Jay (2016 November 7) “Trump Fans Unleash Last-Minute Flood of Pepe the Frog Memes”, in The Daily Dot‎^[6], retrieved February 26, 2017

Albanian

Etymology

A modern borrowing, from English cake.

Noun

kek n

cake, pie

Atong (India)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kek/

Etymology 1

From English cake.

Noun

kek (Bengali script কেক)

cake

Etymology 2

Verb

kek- (Bengali script কেক)

to chop (wood)

Etymology 3

Verb

kek- (Bengali script কেক)

to grow

Etymology 4

Adjective

kek- (Bengali script কেক, type 1)

blunt; dull

References

van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

Basque

Etymology 1

Noun

kek

ergative indefinite of ke

Etymology 2

Noun

kek

ergative plural of ka

Dutch

FWOTD – 4 October 2019

Etymology

Borrowed from German keck. Doublet of kwiek.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kɛk/
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: kek
Rhymes: -ɛk

Adjective

kek (comparative kekker, superlative kekst)

(Netherlands) eye-catching (visually pleasing in a hip or bold manner)
- 2016 February 19, Thijs Zonneveld, “De beige sjaal van Dick Advocaat is een statement”, in Algemeen Dagblad:
  Dick doet er niet aan mee. Geen kekke overhemden, geen moeilijke kapsels (al was dat over zijn schedel gekamde haar dat hij vroeger had ook een soort van hip, destijds), geen laklederen laarsjes en geen Only God Can Judge Me-tatoeage in zijn nek.
  Dick does not go along with it. No flashy shirts, no difficult hairdo (although the hairstyle that he used to have, hair combed sideways, was also some kind of trendy, at that time), no glossy leather boots and no "Only God Can Judge Me" tattoos on his neck.
(Netherlands, by extension) fashionable
(Netherlands) sassy (bold and spirited; cheeky)
- 2013 October 13, Sjoerd Hartholt, “Zo stoppen we de terreur van de straatwervers”, in HP/De Tijd:
  In feite is het verschil met bedelende zwervers niet heel groot, alleen zijn die meestal veel minder opdringerig en aanwezig. Een ander verschil is dat straatwervers vaak kekke meisjes en jongens zijn die bovendien zeggen dat je kapsel tof is en dat je een relaxt persoon lijkt.
  In fact the difference with begging vagrants is not very large, but these are usually much less intrusive and prominent. Another difference is that street promoters are often cheeky girls and boys who moreover say that your hairstyle is swell and that you seem like a relaxed kind of person.

Declension

Declension of kek
uninflected	kek
inflected	kekke
comparative	kekker
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		kek	kekker	het kekst het kekste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	kekke	kekkere	kekste
	n. sing.	kek	kekker	kekste
	plural	kekke	kekkere	kekste
definite		kekke	kekkere	kekste
partitive		keks	kekkers	—

Synonyms

(sassy, spirited): kittig
(visually appealing): blits

Descendants

Negerhollands: kek

Fiji Hindi

Etymology

Borrowed from English cake.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /keːk/

Noun

kek

cake

References

Fiji Hindi Dictionary

Iban

Etymology

Borrowed from English cake.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kɛk/

Noun

kek

cake

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kɛʔ/

Noun

kek

(vocative) Clipping of kakek.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /keʔ/
(rare, especially when stressed) IPA^(key): /kek/

Adverb

kek

(colloquial) Syncopic form of kayak (“like, such as”)

Malay

Etymology

From English cake.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [keʔ]
Rhymes: -eʔ

Noun

kek (Jawi spelling کيک, plural kek-kek, informal 1st possessive kekku, 2nd possessive kekmu, 3rd possessive keknya)

cake

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

keik

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [çeːk]

Verb

kek

past of kike

Talysh

Etymology

Cognate with Persian (kak).

Noun

kek

flea

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English cake.

Noun

kek

cake

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from English cake.

Noun

kek (definite accusative keki, plural kekler)

cake

Usage notes

It's called "pasta" when it's with cream filling

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	kek
Definite accusative	keki
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	kek	kekler
Definite accusative	keki	kekleri
Dative	keke	keklere
Locative	kekte	keklerde
Ablative	kekten	keklerden
Genitive	kekin	keklerin

Volapük

Noun

kek (nominative plural keks)

cake

Declension

declension of kek

	singular	plural
nominative	kek	keks
genitive	keka	kekas
dative	keke	kekes
accusative	keki	kekis
vocative ¹	o kek!	o keks!
predicative ²	keku	kekus

¹ status as a case is disputed
² in later, non-classical Volapük only

Zazaki

Etymology 1

Noun

kek m

Alternative form of kekı (“flea”)

Etymology 2

Noun

kek m

mister

Etymology 3

Noun

kek

cake

[1] Sarkar, Samit (2017 September 14) “Bungie explains how Destiny 2 armor resembling hate symbol made it into the game”, in Polygon, retrieved August 4, 2018

[2] Moomaw, Graham (2017 February 16) “In Charlottesville, GOP candidate for governor Corey Stewart allies with alt-right-inspired blogger who wants to protect 'glorious Western civilization'”, in Richmond Times-Dispatch‎^[1]

[altright-3] Mardell, Mark (2016 September 22) “Naked Nigel, the God Kek and modern politics”, in BBC News‎^[2]

[vocativ-4] King, James (2016 November 22) “Cucks & Kek: Racism's Old Guard Reaches Out To An Online Generation”, in Vocativ‎^[3], archived from the original on 11 November 2020

[mancunion-5] Lock, Colm (2016 December 1) “Harambe and the magic of memes”, in The Mancunion‎^[4], retrieved February 26, 2017

[motherjones-6] Harkinson, Josh (2016 October 27) “Meet the White Nationalist Trying To Ride The Trump Train to Lasting Power”, in Mother Jones‎^[5]

[dailydot-7] Hathaway, Jay (2016 November 7) “Trump Fans Unleash Last-Minute Flood of Pepe the Frog Memes”, in The Daily Dot‎^[6], retrieved February 26, 2017

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Usage notes

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

Synonyms

See also

References

Albanian

Etymology

Noun

Atong (India)

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Etymology 2

Verb

Etymology 3

Verb

Etymology 4

Adjective

References

Basque

Etymology 1

Noun

Etymology 2

Noun

Dutch

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Declension

Synonyms

Descendants

Fiji Hindi

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Iban

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Adverb

Further reading

Malay

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

Talysh

Etymology

Noun

Tok Pisin

Etymology

Noun

Turkish

Etymology

Noun

Usage notes

Declension

Volapük

Noun

Declension

Zazaki

Etymology 1

Noun