KILLUT, KILLAUT, &c., s. Ar.—H. khil'at. A dress of honour presented by a superior on ceremonial occasions; but the meaning is often extended to the whole of a ceremonial present of that nature, of whatever it may consist. [The Ar. khil-a'h properly means 'what a man strips from his person.' "There were (among the later Moguls) five degrees of khila't, those of three, five, six, or seven pieces; or they might as a special mark of favour consist of clothes that the emperor had actually worn." (See for further details Mr. Irvine in J.R.A.S., N.S., July 1896, p. 533).] The word has in Russian been degraded to mean the long loose gown which forms the most common dress in Turkistan, called generally by Schuyler 'a dressing-gown' (Germ. Schlafrock). See Fraehn, Wolga Bulgaren, p. 43.
1411.—"Several days passed in sumptuous feasts. Khil'ats and girdles of royal magnificence were distributed."—Abdurazzāk, in Not. et Exts. xiv. 209.
1673.—"Sir George Oxenden held it.... He defended himself and the Merchants so bravely, that he had a Collat or [Seerpaw], (q.v.) a Robe of Honour from Head to Foot, offered him from the Great Mogul."—Fryer, 87.
1676.—"This is the Wardrobe, where the Royal Garments are kept; and from whence the King sends for the Calaat, or a whole Habit for a Man, when he would honour any Stranger...."—Tavernier, E.T. ii. 46; [ed. Ball, ii. 98].
1774.—"A flowered satin gown was brought me, and I was dressed in it as a khilat."—Bogle, in Markham's Tibet, 25.
1786.—"And he the said Warren Hastings did send kellauts, or robes of honour (the most public and distinguished mode of acknowledging merit known in India) to the said ministers in testimony of his approbation of their services."—Articles of Charge against Hastings, in Burke's Works, vii. 25.
1809.—"On paying a visit to any Asiatic Prince, an inferior receives from him a complete dress of honour, consisting of a khelaut, a robe, a turban, a shield and sword, with a string of pearls to go round the neck."—Ld. Valentia, i. 99.
1813.—"On examining the khelauts ... from the great Maharajah Madajee Sindia, the serpeych (see [SIRPECH]) ... presented to Sir Charles Malet, was found to be composed of false stones."—Forbes, Or. Mem. iii. 50; [2nd ed. ii. 418].
KINCOB, s. Gold brocade. P.—H. kamkhāb, ḳamkhwāb, vulgarly kimkhwāb. The English is perhaps from the Gujarātī, as in that language the last syllable is short.
This word has been twice imported from the East. For it is only another form of the medieval name of an Eastern damask or brocade, cammocca. This was taken from the medieval Persian and Arabic forms kamkhā or kīmkhwā, 'damasked silk,' and seems to have come to Europe in the 13th century. F. Johnson's Dict. distinguishes between kamkhā, 'damask silk of one colour,' and kimkhā, 'damask silk of different colours.' And this again, according to Dozy, quoting Hoffmann, is originally a Chinese word kin-kha; in which doubtless kin, 'gold,' is the first element. Kim is the Fuhkien form of the word; qu. kim-hoa, 'gold-flower'? We have seen kimkhwāb derived from Pers. kam-khwāb, 'less sleep,' because such cloth is rough and prevents sleep! This is a type of many etymologies. ["The ordinary derivation of the word supposes that a man could not even dream of it who had not seen it (kam, 'little,' khwāb, 'dream')" (Yusuf Ali, Mono. on Silk, 86). Platts and the Madras Gloss. take it from kam, 'little,' khwāb, 'nap.'] Ducange appears to think the word survived in the French mocade (or moquette); but if so the application of the term must have degenerated in England. (See in Draper's Dict. mockado, the form of which has suggested a sham stuff.)