619: kith Aug 18, 2016

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The phrase 'kith and kin' contains the otherwise rare word 'kith'. The word comes from the Old English, 'cyth' meaning 'knowledge'. A few centuries later, the meaning of the word had changed to 'one's homeland'. Originally, therefore, the phrase meant, the things close to someone: "homeland and family". That notion then led to the third meaning of the word, which we use today, meaning 'friends'.

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