kempt en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- (Southern-England) audio
- /kɛm(p)t/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Partly from both of the following: * An adjective use of kempt, the past participle of kemb (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) to comb”), from Middle English kemben (“to comb (oneself or someone, or something); to card (wool, etc.); to make (something) elegant or smooth; (figurative) to make (something) gentle”) (compare the past participle forms kempde, kempte), from Old English cemban (“to comb”) from Proto-West Germanic *kambijan (“to comb, kemb”), from Proto-Germanic *kambijaną (“to comb, kemb”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“tooth; row of teeth”), from *ǵembʰ- (“to bite, chomp; to crunch”). * A back-formation from unkempt.
Meanings
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(archaic) Of a person's beard or hair: combed.
Faint and in pain he propped his weary head, / And his kempt beard adown his bosom spread.
1867, Virgil, “Book X”, in John Benson Rose, transl., The Æneis of Virgil, London: Dorrell & Son, […], →OCLC, page 307, lines 909–910:For a moment Boshy thought his senses were playing up with him, for there in the door entrance stood the identical girl—the same turkey-egg complexion, stubby nose, and her red hair only changed from unkempt to kempt.
1907, Barbara Baynton, “Human Toll: Chapter 6”, in Sally Krimmer, Alan Lawson, editors, Barbara Baynton: Bush Studies, Other Stories, Human Toll, Verse Essays and Letters (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St. Lucia, Brisbane, Qld.: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, →ISBN, page 189:
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(archaic) Of wool or other fibres: combed.
[W]hen maidens vvere to be vvedded, there attended upon them a diſtaffe, dreſſed and trimmed vvith kembed vvooll, as alſo a ſpindle and yearne upon it.
1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VIII.] Divers Kinds of Wooll and Clothes.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 2nd tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 228:
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(figuratively, humorous, usually) Neat and tidy.
The street paving was badly worn, but looked marvelously smooth and kempt to Winterbourne, accustomed to roads worn into deep ruts and reft with shell-holes.
1929 July, Richard Aldington, chapter XII, in Death of a Hero […], New York, N.Y.: Covici-Friede, published October 1929, →OCLC, part 3 (Adagio), page 359:He could see her now: middle-aged, gray hair, well kempt, European-looking.
1982, Michael Blodgett, “Meadowbrook”, in Captain Blood, New York, N.Y.: Harmony Books, →ISBN, part III, page 288:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most kempt | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more kempt | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
grungy · blowsy · unkempt · scroungy · ribby · out at the heels · draggled · scratty · sloppy · untidy · frumpy · dowdy · slovenlike · tumultuous · frowsy · schleppy · scruffy · sluttish · slummocky · schlumpy · messy · dowdyish · dishevelled · turbulent · unshaven · grotty · riotous · slobbish · tore up · mangy · shabby · downgone · disorderly · hashy · ill-kempt · slatternly · sluttish · qualifier · unkempt · unfine · chaotic · unkemmed · trampish · piggy · scrofulous · seedy · cluttered · unkempt · slovenly · draggle-tailed · unkempt · scrungy · tumultuary · down at heel · tempestuous · ree-raw · slobby · grufty · slammocky · bedraggled · mean · ragtag · tacky
Deriveds
ill-kempt · unkempt · well-kempt
Synonyms
tosh · shipshape · orderly · regular · ruly · in order · trim · prest · well-groomed · neat and tidy · nice as ninepence · trig · neat as a pin · tiptop · all Sir Garnet · tight · neat as a new pin · well-kept · shipshape and Bristol fashion · neat · tidy · squared away · Bristol fashion and shipshape