kith

/kɪθ/

//kɪθ// noun

"kith" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kith” is uncommon English (frequency #62,258 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,258
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Friends and acquaintances.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kith · kith · English

kith · rank #62,258 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,258
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kiley

Nearest frequency peer: Kiley (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “kith”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “kith” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kith
PropertyValue
Headwordkith
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɪθ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#62,258
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kith” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).kithfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Kiley” (#62,257), “Kilauea” (#62,256), “Koreas” (#62,260). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kith” is #62,258. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kith is uncommon English at frequency #62,258 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kɪθ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

kith has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 (“… The correct English form is kith, spelled K-I-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Friends and acquaintances.
  2. 2
    An acquaintance or a friend.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how kith appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Alack, would that Edward listened more to me and less to the queen’s kith! These Woodvilles!
  2. The demography-crossing thing that undergirds this election year, I think, is a strong, broad desire to punish Clinton and his kith with a denial of further power.

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.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kith"?
"kith" is spelled K-I-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /kɪθ/.
What does "kith" mean?
As a noun, "kith" means: Friends and acquaintances.
How do you pronounce "kith"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kith" is /kɪθ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "kith"?
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 ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "kith", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list