kith
/kɪθ/ noun
Forms kiths
- noun (archaic or obsolete, uncountable) Friends and acquaintances.
- noun (Northern England, Scotland, rustic, countable) An acquaintance or a friend.
- noun (social work, countable or uncountable) A person who is not related to a child but has social connections to the child's family, especially when considered as a caregiver or possible caregiver for the child.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English kitthe (“kinsmen, relations”), from Old English cȳþþ, cȳþþu (“kinship, kinsfolk, relations”), from Proto-Germanic *kunþiþō (“knowledge, acquaintance”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”). Cognate with Old High German kundida (“kith”), kundī (“knowledge”), Gothic 𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌸𐌹 (kunþi, “knowledge”). More at couth, -th.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Acquaintance; kindred.
Etymology [OE. kith, cu, AS. cc known. Uncouth, Can, and cf. Kythe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “kith”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details