also kail, "cabbage, any kind of greens with curled or wrinkled leaves," c. 1300, a variant of cawul (see cole (n.1)), surviving in Scottish and northern English. Slang meaning "money" is from 1902, from the notion of leaves of green.

"optical instrument creating and exhibiting, by reflection, a variety of beautiful colors and symmetrical forms," 1817, literally "observer of beautiful forms," coined by its inventor, Scottish scientist David Brewster (1781-1868), from Greek kalos "beautiful, beauteous" (see Callisto) + eidos "shape" (see -oid) + -scope, on model of telescope, etc. They sold by the thousands in the few years after their invention, but Brewster failed to secure a patent.

Figurative meaning "constantly changing pattern" is first attested 1819 in Lord Byron, whose publisher had sent him one of the toys. As a verb, from 1891. A kaleidophone (1827) was invented by English inventor Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) to make sound waves visible.

"varying or variegated like the forms and colors in a kaleidoscope," 1820, from kaleidoscope + -ic. Figurative use by 1855.

"suicide flier," 1945, Japanese, literally "divine wind," from kami "god, providence" (see kami) + kaze "wind." Said to have been originally the name given in folklore to a typhoon which saved Japan from Mongol invasion by wrecking Kublai Khan's fleet (August 1281). The World War II attacks began in October 1944 off the Philippines. As an adjective from 1946.

As an aside, at war's end, the Japanese had, by actual count, a total of 16,397 aircraft still available for service, including 6,374 operational fighters and bombers, and if they had used only the fighters and bombers for kamikaze missions, they might have realized, additionally, 900 ships sunk or damaged and 22,000 sailors killed or injured. In fact, however, the Japanese had outfitted many aircraft, including trainers, as potential suicide attackers. As intelligence estimates indicated, the Japanese believed they could inflict at least 50,000 casualties to an invasion force by kamikaze attacks alone. [Richard P. Hallion, "Military Technology and the Pacific War," 1995]