ker-

Also ca-,

1. an unstressed syllable prefixed to onomatopoeic and other expressive words, usually forming adverbs or interjections.

   kerflop; kerplunk; ker-splosh.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ker-¹

Perhaps from Scots dialect car-, cur-, currie- (as in carfuffle, carwhuffle “to disarrange,” carnaptious “irritable,” curriebuction “a confused gathering, etc.”), based on car, earlier ker “left (hand or side),” from Scots Gaelic cearr “wrong, awkward, left-handed” (compare Middle Irish cerr “crooked, maimed”); variants without r probably reflect forms in r -less dialects

Example Sentences

Under its old leadership, Kering KER -0.11%decrease; red down pointing triangle was carrying too much debt in service of an overly ambitious strategy.

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Kering KER 0.34%increase; green up pointing triangle is in talks to sell its beauty business to L’Oréal OR 1.11%increase; green up pointing triangle in a deal that values the unit at roughly $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, an early move by the Gucci owner’s new chief to revive the luxury giant’s fortunes.

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A member of the crowd called Vance a “couch f**ker,” a reference to a fake excerpt purported to be from his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”

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“Harry, you sexy mother f—ker,” one attendee told him.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"We always had the ambition to go as high as we could, but we have probably outstripped expectations – certainly in terms of the speed in which we have got here," says director Humphrey Ker.

Read more on BBC