kidney
/ˈkɪdni
/noun (plural kidneys)
1Each of a pair of organs in the abdominal cavity of mammals, birds, and reptiles, that excrete urine.Treatment must be rapid to protect organs such as the kidneys, lungs, and liver from damage....
- In addition, waste materials cannot be transported properly to the lungs and kidneys for excretion.
- They each had their own head, arms, legs, brain, heart, lungs, kidneys and liver.
1.1 [mass noun] The kidney of a sheep, ox, or pig as food.It's poached skate with fennel or lamb kidney sausage on bacon and onion bread....
- The skewer lay on a vol-au-vent filled with a lightly truffled fudge of sweetbread and kidney, a faint lemoniness danced on my tongue.
- Follow that with steamed oxtail, beef and veal kidney pudding with roast shallots and buttered carrots.
The kidneys' main function is to purify the blood by removing nitrogenous waste products and excreting them in the urine. They also control the fluid and ion levels in the body, by excreting any excesses. In the past the kidneys were thought to control disposition and temperament.
2 [mass noun] Nature or temperament: I hoped that he would not prove of similar kidney...
- And now, my hearties, be gay, and gaily read the rest, with ease of body and in the best of kidney!
- May this missive find its beholder sound of shank and in good kidney.
Origin
Middle English: of obscure origin.