# kemp

> English word · Noun · IPA /kɛmp/ · frequency rank #16,508

## Definitions
1. A coarse or bristly hair, whisker; (in the plural) knotty hairs that will not felt.
2. Rough hair, wool, or fur.

## Etymology
From Middle English kempe (“coarse hairs”), from Old English cenep (“moustache; bit (of a bridle, bristling with points)”), from Proto-West Germanic *kanip, from Proto-Germanic *kanipaz (“beard, moustache, whiskers”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus (“jaw”). Related to chin.

## Easily confused with
- **KP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kp)
- **key** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-key)
- **Kim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kim)
- **ken** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-ken)
- **Kev** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kev)
- **KMS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kms)
- **kew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kew)
- **kip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kip)
- **kmt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kmt)
- **ker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-ker)
- **KLM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-klm)
- **Kop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kop)
- **kept** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kept)
- **keys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-keys)
- **Kent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kent)
- **Kerr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kerr)
- **kern** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kern)
- **keto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-keto)
- **KPMG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kpmg)
- **kerb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kemp-vs-kerb)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ekmp`, `kemmp`, `kempp`, `kepm`, `kkemp`, `kmep`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/kemp