Kansas

[kan-zuh s] /ˈkæn zəs/

noun
1.
a state in the central United States: a part of the Midwest. 82,276 sq. mi. (213,094 sq. km).
Capital: Topeka.
Abbreviation: KS (for use with zip code), Kans., Kan., Kas.
2.
a river in NE Kansas, flowing E to the Missouri River. 169 miles (270 km) long.
[kan-zuh, -suh] /ˈkæn zə, -sə/
noun, plural Kansas (especially collectively) Kansa for 1.
1.
a member of a North American Indian people formerly of eastern Kansas, now living mostly in northern Oklahoma.
2.
the Siouan language of the Kansa.
[kahn-suh] /ˈkɑn sə/
noun, Hindu Legend.
1.
a tyrannical king killed by Krishna.
/ˈkænzəs/
noun
1.
a state of the central US: consists of undulating prairie, drained chiefly by the Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri Rivers; mainly agricultural. Capital: Topeka. Pop: 2 723 507 (2003 est). Area: 213 096 sq km (82 277 sq miles) Abbreviation Kan, Kans, (with zip code) KS

named for the river, which is named for the native people, from French variant of Kansa, native name of the Siouan people who lived there (1722). It is a plural (see Arkansas). Established as a U.S. territory in 1854, admitted as a state 1861. Related: Kansan.

State in the central United States bordered by Nebraska to the north, Missouri to the east, Oklahoma to the south, and Colorado to the west. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita.

Note: In the 1850s, the state came to be known as “bleeding Kansas” because of the violence between hostile free-staters and pro-slavery settlers.