kit
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kɪt/
rhymes: -ɪt
Forms: form: kits
Etymology: From Middle English kyt, kytt, kytte, from Middle Dutch kitte (“a wooden vessel made of hooped staves”). Related to Dutch kit (“tankard”) (see below). The further etymology is unknown. Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kitjō-, *kut-, which would be related to the root of Dutch kot (“ramshackle house”), itself of non-Indo-European origin.
The transfer of meaning to the contents of a soldier's knapsack dates to the late 18th century, extended use of any collection of necessaries used for travelling dates to the first half of the 19th century.
The further widening of the sense to a collection of parts sold for the buyer to assemble emerges in US English in the mid 20th century.
Senses: glosses: A circular wooden vessel, made of hooped staves.
examples: text: He was pushing a barrow on the fish dock, wheeling aluminium kits which, when full, each contain 10 stone of fish.
ref: 1961 18 Jan, Guardian (cited after OED)
glosses: A kind of basket made especially from straw of rushes, especially for holding fish; by extension, the contents of such a basket or similar container, used as a measure of weight.
examples: text: Dudes! You simply have too much stuff in your kit! But don't sweat it, I can buy some stuff you don't need.
ref: 1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System:
glosses: A collection of items forming the equipment of a soldier, carried in a knapsack.
examples: text: Always carry a good first-aid kit.
glosses: Any collection of items needed for a specific purpose, especially for use by a workman, or personal effects packed for travelling.
examples: text: I built the entire car from a kit.
glosses: A collection of parts sold for the buyer to assemble.
examples: text: A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete with stitched-in poppies, for the match. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge was altogether more straightforward.
ref: 2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in Telegraph:
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The standard set of clothing, accessories and equipment worn by players.
examples: text: Get your kit off and come to bed.
text: The Argentina fan who risked jail by getting her kit off at the World Cup final has broken her silence by posting more topless videos.
ref: 2022 December 20, “Topless Argie fan breaks silence with more nude vids as she dodges Qatar's wrath”, in The US Sun:
glosses: Clothing.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A full software distribution, as opposed to a patch or upgrade.
topics: video-games
glosses: The set of skills and abilities chosen for a playable character.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A drum kit.
examples: text: Do you know the proportion between ten and twelve or thirteen? — No; I should suppose you may take the whole kit of them as thirty; and the rest are people at from twenty to forty years of age.
ref: 1818, Reports, volume 92, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords, page 82:
glosses: The whole set; kit and caboodle.
Hyponyms: airfix kit
body kit
death kit
electronic kit
first aid kit
football kit
model kit
pack-up kit
robot kit
starter kit
suicide kit
toolkit
Derived terms: dancing master's kit
devkit
dop kit
dopp kit
Dopp kit
first-aid kit
get one's kit off
hush kit
identikit
kikay kit
kill kit
kit and caboodle
kit and kaboodle
kit bag
kitbag
kitbash
kit car
kit-cat
kit gun
kit-kat
kit lens
kitless
kit man
kitome
kit out
kitset
kitter
kittle
kit-violin
media kit
medikit
medkit
mess kit
minikit
non-WebKit
press kit
rape kit
rape test kit
rekit
root kit
rootkit
sea rescue kit
sewing kit
spill kit
survival kit
take one's kit off
toiletry kit
tool kit
toolkit
washkit
WebKit
whole kit and caboodle
whole kit and kaboodle