Kali
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The prickly glasswort (Kali turgidum, syn. of Salsola kali). uncountable
"But the kali is principally regarded, on account of its yielding copiously, when burnt, the fixed alkaline salt called soda[…]"
- 2 Traditional Philippine stick fighting, a martial art. uncountable
- 3 A type of British crystalline sweet or candy, similar in appearance to sherbet but made with larger sugar crystals. uncountable
"[M]any women will be glad to know exactly how to start making sweets so that they will be saleable. [...] Lozenges, comfits, kali, bonbons, etc."
- 4 bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash wordnet
- 5 Alkali, particularly soda ash or potash. uncountable
- 1 A goddess in Hinduism, one of the most significant figures within that religion, who destroys evil forces and bestows liberation. Hinduism
"Kālī is Śiva's "other" wife, as it were, provoking him and encouraging him in his mad, antisocial, often disruptive habits. It is never Kālī who tames Śiva but Śiva who must becalm Kālī."
- 2 A male demon, lord of Kali Yuga and the nemesis of Kalki, tenth avatar of Vishnu. Hinduism
- 3 A potassium salt.
- 4 A female given name from Sanskrit used especially in India.
Example
More examples"In Bengal, in eastern India, Diwali is dedicated to the dark goddess of power, Kali."
Etymology
From Arabic قِلْي (qily). See alkali.
Uncertain; see arnis#Name at Wikipedia for more.
Uncertain; possibly a reference to the appearance of soda ash produced by burning kali (Etymology 1).
From Sanskrit काली (kālī) or कालिका (kālikā).
From Sanskrit कलि (kali).
A shortening of German Kalium.
Related phrases
More for "kali"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.