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Dictionary definition: king
- Article from:
- The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
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Copyright© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information)
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king
the male ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the position by right of birth.
In chess, the king is the most important piece, of which each player has one, which the opponent has to checkmate in order to win. The king can move in any direction, including diagonally, to any adjacent square that is not attacked by an opponent's piece or pawn. In cards, the king is the highest-ranking court card.
king and country the objects of allegiance for a patriot whose head of State is a king; the phrase is recorded from the early 17th century.
Your King and Country need you
was the caption for a recruiting advertisement of 1914, showing Lord Kitchener with pointing ...