kith

/kɪθ/

Etymology

From Middle English kitthe (“kinsmen, relations”), from Old English cȳþþ, cȳþþu (“kinship, kinsfolk, relations”), from Proto-Germanic *kunþiþō (“knowledge, acquaintance”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”). Cognate with Old High German kundida (“kith”), kundī (“knowledge”), Gothic 𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌸𐌹 (kunþi, “knowledge”). More at couth, -th.

kith means friends and acquaintances. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.

Why this word is great

KITH — [Noun] One's familiar community of friends and neighbors, the chosen or circumstantial cohort distinct from blood relations. From Middle English kitthe, from Old English cȳþþ, cȳþþu ("kinsfolk, acquaintanceship"), from Proto-Germanic *kunþiþō ("knowledge, acquaintance"), from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵneh₃- ("to know"). Unlike kin, which binds by the unchosen web of blood or marriage, or acquaintance, which implies a glancing, impersonal knowledge, kith denotes the voluntary, textured fellowship of the proximate. It is the baker who saves your usual loaf, the neighbor whose spare key you hold, and the shared, unspoken grammar of your hometown's streets—the architecture of a life built not on obligation, but on the quiet, accumulated weight of shared seasons and glances.

noun

Friends and acquaintances.“Alack, would that Edward listened more to me and less to the queen’s kith! These Woodvilles!”
An acquaintance or a friend.
A person who is not related to a child but has social connections to the child's family, especially when considered as a caregiver or possible caregiver for the child.“The Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (the society) seeks an order finding the child in need of protection and placing him in the care and custody of a kith, H.O., for a period of six months, subject to terms of supervision by the society. [Footnote:] ‘[K]ith’ refers to a community member such as a family friend or neighbour who agrees to provide care to a child until the child can safely”