| 释义 |
kith and kin
kith and kin K0080000 (kĭth′ ən kĭn′)pl.n.1. One's acquaintances and relatives.2. One's relatives.
[Middle English kith, from Old English cȳth, kinsfolk, neighbors; see gnō- in Indo-European roots.]Word History: Kith is obsolete except in the alliterative expression kith and kin, a phrase that dates from Middle English times and seems to have already become a cliché by the 1300s. The Middle English noun kith meant basically "familiar country, place that one knows" and also "kinsfolk, relations." It comes from the Old English noun cȳth, meaning "knowledge," "known, familiar country," and "acquaintances, friends." Cȳth in turn comes from the Germanic noun *kunthithō, a derivative of *kunthaz, "known." Germanic *kunthaz was the past participle of a verb *kunnan, "to know, know how," which became cunnan in Old English. The first person singular of this verb, can, is alive and well today, as is what was originally the verbal noun and adjective of cunnan, namely cunning, which first appeared in the 1300s.Translationskith and kin
kith and kinFriends and family. We are gathered here, with kith and kin, to celebrate this great union.See also: and, kinkith and kinfriends and relatives; people known to someone. I was delighted to find all my kith and kin waiting for me at the airport to welcome me home. I sent cards to my kith and kin, telling them of my arrival.See also: and, kinkith and kinFriends and family, as in Everyone was invited, kith and kin as well as distant acquaintances. This expression dates from the 1300s and originally meant "countrymen" ( kith meant "one's native land") and "family members." It gradually took on the present looser sense. See also: and, kinkith and kin your relations. Kith , an Old English word meaning ‘native land’ or ‘countrymen’, is now only used in this phrase, which itself dates back to the late 14th century. The variant kith or kin is also sometimes found.See also: and, kinkith and ˈkin (old-fashioned) friends and relatives: He has returned to live in Italy, where he’ll be surrounded by his kith and kin.See also: and, kinkith and kinFriends and family. This term is very old indeed, appearing in William Langland’s Piers Ploughman (1377), when kith meant “one’s native land,” and by extension one’s countrymen, and kin meant, as it still does, “members of one’s family.” Presumably the alliteration helped it survive. It became a cliché in the nineteenth century but is much less heard now and may be obsolescent. Ogden Nash played on it in “Family Court” (1930): “One would be in less danger From the wiles of the stranger If one’s own kin and kith Were more fun to be with.” See also: and, kin |