fit English · revision 2668

+ English has two main words spelled ''fit'': “suitable”, with the verb and noun formed from it, and “a sudden attack”, from Old English fitt “conflict”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|suitable}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1375}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective meaning “suitable” is [[inh|enm|fit]], fytt, of unknown origin.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It may come from the Middle English noun fitte “an adversary of equal power, one's match” (before 1250),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) or from the past participle of a verb fitten “to be suitable”;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Merriam-Webster relates the verb to Middle Dutch vitten “to be suitable” and Old Norse fitja “to knit”.^(MWU 2024) The verb fitten first meant “to marshal troops”, before 1400.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The noun “the way something fits” is from the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The adjective “fitting, suitable”: probably about 1375 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1440 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The verb “to be suitable” is from probably before 1420, in Lydgate's ''Troy Book''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of being the right size and shape, of a manufactured article, is from 1530.^(OED 1989) Hoad finds the verb's senses “to be or make suitable” and “to supply, equip” only from the late 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) ''See fit'' and ''think fit'' are from 1611.^(OED 1989) In athletics ''fit'', “in condition, properly trained”, is from 1869.^(Etymonline) Herbert Spencer coined ''survival of the fittest'' in 1867.^(Etymonline) The noun, the process of fitting, is from the 1680s; the fitting of one thing to another is from 1823 and the way something fits from 1831.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1250 – noun, one's match.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1375 – adjective, suitable.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1400 – verb, to marshal troops.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1420 – verb, to be suitable.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – of the right size.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1823 – noun, the fitting of one thing to another.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1867 – ''survival of the fittest''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1869 – physically fit.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Suitable or right for a purpose.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # In good physical condition; [[healthy]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Qualified or competent; proper: ''not fit to be seen''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(British, informal)'' Sexually attractive.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be the right size and shape for.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be suitable or appropriate; to agree with.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To put in place or install; to [[equip]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To make suitable; to adapt.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The way in which something fits: ''a tight fit''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fitness]]

+ * [[fitter]]

+ * [[fitting]]

+ * [[outfit]]

+ * [[befit]]

+ * [[misfit]]

+ * [[refit]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|sudden attack}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1325|origins=ang fitt}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The sudden attack is [[inh|enm|fit|t=a painful or exciting experience]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) probably [[inh|ang|fitt|t=conflict, struggle]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) which is of uncertain origin, with no clear cognates outside English.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline suggests it may be related to the adjective fit through the idea of meeting,^(Etymonline) and the SOED suggests an original meaning “juncture, meeting, match”.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A position of hardship, danger or intense excitement: about 1325,^(OED 1989) the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) and before 1376 in ''Piers Plowman''.^(Barnhart 1988) Old English fitt, “conflict”, is recorded once.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “sudden sharp attack, paroxysm” of an illness is first recorded before 1547,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and a seizure with loss of consciousness from 1621.^(OED 1989) A sudden impulse toward activity is from the 1580s,^(Etymonline) and a sudden outburst of a feeling, such as anger, belongs to the same period.^(OED 1989) ''By fits'' is from the 1580s and ''by fits and starts'' by the 1610s;^(Etymonline) Middle English had stertmele “irregularly, by fits and starts”.^(Etymonline) Hyperbolical phrases such as ''to throw a fit'' are from 1839.^(OED 1989) ''Fitful'' is first found in Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'', and its modern sense, “irregular, spasmodic”, is from Scott's ''The Lady of the Lake'' (1810).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1325 – a time of hardship or excitement.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1547 – a paroxysm.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580s – a sudden impulse, and ''by fits''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1610s – ''by fits and starts''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1621 – a seizure with loss of consciousness.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1839 – ''to throw a fit''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sudden attack of an illness, especially a [[seizure]] or [[convulsion]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A sudden outburst of a feeling or activity: ''a fit of laughter''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' An outburst of [[anger]]: ''she'll have a fit''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fitful]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A third, archaic ''fit'' (also fytte) is a section of a poem or song, a canto, from Old English fitt, recorded about 888;^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) Merriam-Webster relates it to Old Saxon fittea “division of a poem”.^(MWU 2024) Liberman argues that all the words spelled ''fit'' are related, with a basic meaning “to move back and forth, make sporadic movements”, as in ''fitful'' and ''by fits and starts''.^(Liberman 2008) In Scotland ''fit'' is also a form of [[foot]].^(SOED 2002)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}