Kak
/kæk/noun
A vulgar term for excrement, especially in South African English and Afrikaans.
Did you know?Kak belongs to a widespread family of expressive excrement words, including English “cack” and “caca,” likely shaped by baby-talk or imitative syllables rather than a securely reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient/Prehistoric
Expressive vocabulary
*kak- / *kaka-
“A probable imitative or nursery-form associated with defecation; a deeper Proto-Indo-European derivation is uncertain.”
Classical Latin
Latin
cacāre
“To defecate; the source of the international medical term “cacation.””
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch
kacke / cacke
“Excrement or dung; a vulgar term.”
17th–18th Century
Dutch
kak
“Excrement; a vulgar expression, later also used figuratively for nonsense or something unpleasant.”
19th Century
Afrikaans
kak
“Excrement; a vulgar term inherited from Dutch.”
20th Century–Modern
South African English
kak
“A South African English loanword meaning excrement, rubbish, nonsense, or something bad, depending on context.”