ked
ked noun: any of the family Hippoboscidae of obligate parasites, especially the sheep ked, Melophagus ovinus.
Noun (1)
ked (plural keds)
- Any of the family Hippoboscidae of obligate parasites, especially the sheep ked, Melophagus ovinus.
- Pouring with tobacco liquor is fatal to these insects, and also to the ked, Hippobosca ovina, and to the tick, Acarus reduvius, if it fairly reach them.1839, Rev. Dr Singer, Flies and other insects hurtful to live stock, &c.: Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, page 132
- The common differential diagnoses include cutaneous myiasis, sheep scab and lice; however, keds are readily visible to the naked eye.[…]Adult keds are 4-6 mm long, dark red and readily visible on the neck and forelimbs.2006, Philip R. Scott, Sheep Medicine, page 263
- Synonyms:
- louse fly, Melophagus ovinus
Noun (2) capitalized: KED
KED (plural KEDs)
- Initialism of Kendrick Extrication Device.
Noun (3) capitalized: Ked
Ked (plural Keds)
- singular of Keds
- Consequently he hadn’t been able to run well; his gym shoe threatening to fall off, he had surrendered at the appearance of the car. He had rather be caught than lose one Ked.1975, Thomas Berger, chapter 4, in Sneaky People, New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 78
- Meanwhile, I struggled to keep my composure and to keep my breathing steady as she ever so slightly would shift first one Ked, then the other, as she gently played with my foot.2013, Amy Briant, chapter 14, in Heavenly Moves, Tallahassee, Fla.: Bella Books, →ISBN, pages 258–259
Synonyms of ked
- louse fly
- Melophagus ovinus
Forms of ked
| plural | keds |
|---|---|
| alternative form | kade |
| plural | KEDs |
| plural | Keds |
Origin of ked
Of unknown origin. Possibly from or related to Old Danish keed (“sheep ked, louse-fly”).
Back-formation from Keds.
Words formed from ked
Phrases with ked
Words that rhyme with ked
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- dread
- wed
- ahead
- bread
- sled
- embed
- in one's stead
- inbred
- ped
- zed
- bestead
- cred
- ed
- fed
- med
- undead
- abed
- bedspread
- DMZ
- Fred
- led
- Prussian red
- retread
- spoon-fed
- unwed
- z
- antired
- aspread
- bark bed
- behead
- bested
- bled
- block head
- bred
- cabin bed
- common thread
- Cow Head
- Crow Head
- faned
- fled
- freedom bread
- fugged
- instead
- knead
- misled
- ned
- pled
- read
Questions about ked
- What does ked mean?
- Ked means any of the family Hippoboscidae of obligate parasites, especially the sheep ked, Melophagus ovinus.
- What part of speech is ked?
- Ked is a noun.
- What is the plural of ked?
- The plural of ked is keds.
Words near ked in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ked (page history and authors); KED (page history and authors); Ked (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “ked.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ked. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.