kit English · revision 5205

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1275|origins=dum kitte}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|kitt|alt=kitt, kyt]], probably [[bor|dum|kitte|t=jug, tankard, wooden container]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) a word of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A round wooden tub or pail: 1275, in the compound kittewritt “maker of kits”, and as a word on its own from 1362 in Barnhart and 1375 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Middle Ages, then, a kit was a wooden tub.^(Cresswell 2021) The soldier's equipment packed in a knapsack is from 1785, a transfer from the container to the articles in it.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) A traveller's personal effects is from 1833,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and a workman's tools from 1825 in the OED, 1851 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A set of drums is by 1929,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a set of parts to be assembled by the buyer from the 1930s.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The informal sense “a lot, collection”, as in ''the whole kit and caboodle'', is first in Grose's dictionary of 1785.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, to equip, as in ''kit out'', is from 1919.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1275 – a wooden tub.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1785 – a soldier's equipment.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1833 – personal effects.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1919 – verb, to equip.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1929 – a drum kit.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1930s – parts for assembly.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A set of tools or supplies used for a particular purpose: ''a first-aid kit''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A set of parts to be put together: ''a model kit''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' The clothing and equipment for a sport or activity, or a soldier's or traveller's gear.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A container for such a set.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' To equip someone, usually with ''out'' or ''up''.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[kit bag]]

+ * [[mess kit]]

+ * [[press kit]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[caboodle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A small fiddle once used by dancing masters, from the 1510s, is perhaps from Latin cithara, Greek κιθάρα.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Kit, a young cat or other small fur-bearing animal, is a shortening of [[kitten]], from 1562.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) In New Zealand, a kit is a flax basket, from Māori kete.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}