kite

Noun (1)

kite (plural kites)

1. A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.
   • A pair of kites built a nest on the cliff.
   • And yet the ſillie kight, well weyde in each degree,
     May ſerue ſometimes (as in his kinde) for mans commoditie.
     The kight can weede the worme from corne and coſtly ſeedes,
     The kight cã kill the mowldiwarpe, in pleaſant meads yͭ breeds:
     Out of the ſtately ſtreetes the kight can clenſe the filth,
     As...1575, George Gascoigne, “Councell to Duglasse Diue Written vpon This Occasion. …”, in The Posies of George Gascoigne Esquire. […], printed at London: For Richard Smith, […], →OCLC; republished in...
   1. Any bird of the subfamily Milvinae, with long wings and weak legs, feeding mostly on carrion and spending long periods soaring; specifically, the red kite (Milvus milvus) and the black kite (Milvus migrans).
      • The milvus, or kite, is a native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. […] Its motion in the air distinguishes it from all other birds, being so smooth and even that it is scarcely perceptible.1816, G[eorge] Gregory, [Jeremiah Joyce], “FALCO”, in A Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. … In Three Volumes. […], 1st American edition, volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by Isaac Peirce, […]...
      • In Hindu erotic literature, to consummate sexual supremacy, a prescription often in use requires a mixture of honey and cowach, the prickly hairs of a tropical pod, along with the remains of a dead kite, in pulverized form.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 133
   2. A bird of the genus Elanus, having thin pointed wings, that preys on rodents and hunts by hovering; also, any bird of related genera in the subfamily Elaninae.
      • The ‘white-tailed’ kites in the genus Elanus (‘kite’) are small, gull-like, grey-and-white hawks with black forewing patches and varying amounts of black on the underwings.2019, Stephen Debus, “Small Kites, Genus Elanus”, in Birds of Prey of Australia: A Field Guide, 3rd edition, Clayton South, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing, →ISBN, part II (Handbook), page 113
   3. Some species in the subfamily Perninae.
      • The swallow-tailed kite of the New World (Elanoides forficatus) is a striking black and white bird of the subfamily Perninae. It is about 60 cm (24 inches) long, including its long forked tail. It is most common in tropical eastern South America but also occurs from Central America to the United...2011, “Selected Falconiforms”, in John P. Rafferty, editor, Meat Eaters: Raptors, Sharks, and Crocodiles (Britannica Guide to Predators and Prey), New York, N.Y.: Britannica Educational Publishing in...
2. (figuratively) A rapacious person.
   • deteſted kite, thou li[e]ſt[.] [M]y traine, and^([sic – meaning are]) men of choiſe and rareſt parts, that all particulars of dutie knowe, and in the moſt exact regard, ſupport the worſhip of their name, [...]c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […]...
3. A lightweight toy or other device, traditionally flat and shaped like a triangle with a segment of a circle attached to its base or like a quadrilateral (see sense 9), carried on the wind and tethered and controlled from the ground by one or more lines.
   • On windy spring days, we would fly kites.
   • What for do ye want to get baker's bread, aunt? This dough will rise as high as a kite in the south wind.1859 December 13, Elizabeth Gaskell, “The Ghost in the Garden Room”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Haunted House. The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round […], volume II, London: […]...
4. A tethered object which deflects its position in a medium by obtaining lift and drag in reaction with its relative motion in the medium.
   • The purpose of the water kite is to float beneath or beside the ship at a depth sufficient to insure safety.1906 September 12, “Water Kites”, in Fairbanks Evening News, Fairbanks, Ak.: Tanana Pub. Co., →OCLC, page 2
5. A planetary configuration wherein one planet of a grand trine is in opposition to an additional fourth planet.
   • Frequently a kite formation is created by one of the planets in the trine by its opposition to another planet, which allows expulsion and redirection of the pent-up energy associated with a closed circuit.1992, Erin Sullivan, Retrograde Planets: Traversing the Inner Landscape (Contemporary Astrology), London: Arkana Publishing, →ISBN, pages 144–145
6. (slang) A blank cheque; a fraudulent cheque, such as one issued even though there are insufficient funds to honour it, or one that has been altered without authorization.
   • But she said, "if this was a kite, he didn't realize that you don't have the float time of the old days," which made check-kiting easier.1991 May 21, Alex Barnum, “Suspect named in kiting case”, in San Jose Mercury News, San Jose, Calif.: Mercury Herald Co., →OCLC, page 8E
7. (slang) An accommodation bill (“a bill of exchange endorsed by a reputable third party acting as a guarantor, as a favour and without compensation”).
   • The advantages which are alleged to belong to the district system [of banking] are the following:— […] as each bank will have an agent in London, the bills they draw will thus have two parties as securities, and the public will have a pledge that there is no excessive issue in the form of kites or...1871, James W. Gilbart, “Section XI. The Administration of Joint-stock Banks, with an Inquiry into the Causes of Their Failures.”, in The Principles and Practice of Banking, new edition, London: Bell...
8. (slang) A rider who is good at climbs but less good at descents.
9. A polygon resembling the shape of a traditional toy kite (sense 3): a quadrilateral having two pairs of edges of equal length, the edges of each pair touching each other at one end.
   • Meronyms: angle, side; see also Thesaurus:polygon
   • A kite is a quadrilateral with exactly two pairs of adjacent congruent sides. Note that a parallelogram has opposite congruent sides, whereas the congruent sides of kites are adjacent. Therefore, a kite is also a parallelogram only when both pairs of adjacent congruent sides of the kite are...2011, W. Michael Kelley, “Quadrilaterals”, in The Humongous Book of Geometry Problems: Translated for People Who Don’t Speak Math!!, New York, N.Y.: Alpha Books, →ISBN, page 216
10. (slang) An aeroplane or aircraft.
    • And did you know the Chiefie said that one of our kites went in the drink last night?1944, Vocational Trends, volume 7
    • This time, the engine roared and the kite rocked against the brakes then sluggishly rolled down the strip.2004, Harry Foxley, Marking Time: A Soldier’s Story, Victoria, B.C.; Crewe, East Cheshire: Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 133
11. (dated) In a square-rigged ship: originally a sail positioned above a topsail; later a lightweight sail set above the topgallants, such as a studding sail or a jib topsail.
    • Our good master keeps his kites up to the last moment, studding-sails alow and aloft, and, by incessant straight steering, never loses a rod of way.Richard Mayne (2000), “kite”, in The Language of Sailing, Chicago, Ill.; Manchester: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, →ISBN, page 162
12. (slang) A spinnaker (“supplementary sail to a mainsail”).
    • The key to a good gybe is to bring the spinnaker round to the old weather side before you begin, and then to steer to keep some wind in the kite.2014, Tim Davison, “Symmetric Spinnakers”, in Skipper’s Cockpit Racing Guide: For Dinghies, Keelboats and Yachts, London: Adlard Coles Nautical, →ISBN, page 24
13. (UK, dialectal) The brill (Scophthalmus rhombus), a type of flatfish.
    • Brill (Scophthalmus rhombus) Also known as kite or pearl. Brill reaches a maximum length of 75cm (29½in). It lives in the Eastern Atlantic, from Iceland to Morocco, throughout the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.2010, “Fish and Seafood”, in Helena Caldon, Fiona Corbridge, Mary Scott, Belinda Wilkinson, editors, The Cook’s Book of Ingredients, London: Dorling Kindersley, →ISBN, page 69
14. (US, slang) A (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially one passed illegally into, within, or out of a prison.
    • Officers must maintain control by making sure their inmate count is correct, by checking inmates' passes as they walk the hall […] This helps prevent the occasional juggling of goods, gang communication, such as kites (a written request from one inmate to another), and inmate assaults, such as face...2011, Gary L. Heyward, Corruption Officer: From Jail Guard to Perpetrator inside Rikers Island, New York, N.Y.: Atria Paperback, →ISBN, pages 69–70

Verb

kite (third-person singular simple present kites, present participle kiting, simple past and past participle kited)

1. (transitive) To cause (something) to move upwards rapidly like a toy kite; also (chiefly US, figuratively) to cause (something, such as costs) to increase rapidly.
   • Rising interest rates have kited the cost of housing.
   • […] when he saw the fuse of the firecracker was lighted, he turned the torch on the powder under the barrel of dried apples, and in a second everything went kiting; the barrel of dried apples with the cat in it went up to the ceiling, the stove was blown over the counter, the cheese box and the old...1907, Geo[rge] W[ilbur] Peck, chapter XVII, in Peck’s Bad Boy with the Cowboys, Chicago, Ill.: Stanton and Van Vliet Co., →OCLC, pages 292–293
2. (slang, transitive) To tamper with a document or record by increasing the quantity of something beyond its proper amount so that the difference may be unlawfully retained; in particular, to alter a medical prescription for this purpose by increasing the number of pills or other items.
   • A pharmacist "kited" and "shorted" a significant percentage of prescriptions. "Kiting" refers to the pharmacist's forging upward the number of pills originally prescribed by the physician, charging Medicaid for the increased amount but providing the patient with the originally prescribed quantity.1970 June 2, Lowell E. Bellin, “Statement of Dr. Lowell E. Bellin, First Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Health”, in Medicare and Medicaid: Hearings before the Subcommittee on...
   • Pharmacists have kited Medicaid prescriptions by raising the number of pills called for on a prescription blank from, say, 100 to 200, and billing Medicaid for the larger amount.1975, Spencer Klaw, The Great American Medicine Show: The Unhealthy State of U.S. Medical Care, and What can be Done about It, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →ISBN, page 191
3. (transitive) To keep ahead of (an enemy) and repeatedly attack it from a distance, without exposing oneself to danger.
4. (transitive) To attack (an enemy) or otherwise cause it to give chase, so as to lead it somewhere (like a kite is led on a string), for example into a trap or ambush or away from its comrades or something it was protecting.
   • I hate it when my knight is kited away from the castle that I'm attacking!
5. (ambitransitive, transitive) To (cause to) glide in the manner of a kite (“bird”).
   • If you're pulling or kiting a creature and it aggros an innocent passer-by, it's your fault and you should apologize.2001, Juanita Jones, Everquest Player’s Guide: Prima’s Official Strategy Guide, Roseville, Calif.: Prima Games, →ISBN, page 70
   • The wind kited us toward shore.

   Synonyms:

   soar

6. (ambitransitive, rare) To manipulate like a toy kite; also, usually preceded by an inflection of go: to fly a toy kite.
   • Want to go kite with me this weekend?
   • Finally, if you have no one to fly a kite with, you can kite alone.1981 March, “Fun on a Kite String”, in Austin H. Kiplinger, editor, Changing Times: The Kiplinger Magazine, volume 35, number 3, Editors Park, Md.: The Kiplinger Washington Editors, →ISSN, →OCLC...
7. (ambitransitive, slang) To write or present (a cheque) on an account with insufficient funds, either to defraud or expecting that funds will become available by the time the cheque clears.
   • He was convicted of kiting checks and sentenced to two years in prison.
   • “An affair of honour!” said O’Flaherty, squaring himself. He smelt powder in everything.
     “More like an affair of dishonour,” said Toole, buttoning his coat. “He’s been ‘kiting’ all over the town. Nutter can distrain for his rent to-morrow, and Cluffe called him outside the bar to speak with him...1863, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “In Which Dr. Sturk Tries This Way and That for a Reprieve on the Eve of Execution”, in The House by the Church-yard. […], volume II, London: Tinsley, Brothers, […]...
8. (US, ambitransitive, broadly, slang) To steal.
   • Andy also kept a box of that [steel wool] in his cell, although he didn't get it from me—I imagine he kited it from the prison laundry.1982 August 27, Stephen King, “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”, in Different Seasons, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →ISBN; republished in Stephen King Goes to the Movies, 1st Pocket Books...
   • Little bastards were always trying to kite stuff, particularly the candy and the girly magazines.2001, Stephen King, Dreamcatcher: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN; 1st Gallery Books trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Gallery Books, January 2018, →ISBN, page 611
9. (intransitive) To travel by kite, as when kitesurfing.
   • We spent the afternoon kiting around the bay.
   • If we kited again, it would be very dangerous with the steep slope and the heavy weight crashing on behind us and, in any event, Pat and Dave's kites were ridiculously tangled.2010, Alastair Vere Nicoll, “An End and a Beginning”, in Riding the Ice Wind: By Kite and Sledge across Antarctica, London; New York, N.Y.: I.B. Tauris, →ISBN
10. (figuratively, intransitive) To move rapidly; to rush.
    • They commenced whipping their horses at the base, and, as one of the prisoners expressed it, "they went kiting up the hill, and for nearly a mile after the summit had been gained."1857, Sara T[appan] L[awrence] Robinson, “Arrest of G. Jenkins and G. W. Brown”, in Kansas; Its Interior and Exterior Life. […], 7th edition, Boston, Mass.: Crosby, Nichols and Company; Cincinnati...
    • Q. The supervisor of a particular district would go around in his carriage. […] They went kiting around for a couple of weeks?
      A. Yes, sir; for four weeks prior to election.
      Q. Were the carriages necessary?
      A. I didn't see any necessity for them.1876 June 13, George S. Thompson (witness), “Testimony Taken by the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice in Reference to the Use of the Secret Service Fund”, in Index to Reports of...
11. (intransitive) To deflect sideways in the water.
    • This column action causes the tow line to kite either to the port or the starboard side, […]1973 December 17, Clarence K. Chatten, Saul A. Eller, Reece Folb, Arthur P. Brisbane, Weather Resistant Segmented Fairing for a Tow Cable, US Patent 3,899,991 (PDF version), column 1
12. (US, intransitive, slang) To pass a (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially illegally, into, within, or out of a prison.
    • Prison Hall in Central Hospital was claimed by some patients to be "organized" in the more extensive manner of prisons for the sane. Here, it was claimed, an attendant could be bribed to "kite" a letter or bring in contraband, […]1961, Erving Goffman, “The Underlife of a Public Institution: A Study of Ways of Making Out in a Mental Hospital”, in Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates...
    • I have been working like a dam mule this morning and just found time to kite you.1966, Rose Giallombardo, Society of Women: A Study of a Women’s Prison, New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons, →OCLC, page 236

Noun (2)

kite (plural kites)

1. (Northern England, Scotland, dialectal) The stomach; the belly.
   • "You know my father's name?"
     "It would be strange if I didnae," he returned, "for he was my born brother; and little as ye seem to like either me or my house, or my good parritch, I'm your born uncle, Davie, my man, and you my born nephew. So give us the letter, and sit down and fill your kyte."1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, “I Make Acquaintance of My Uncle”, in Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell &...
   • Don't live like vegetarians
     On food they give to parrots,
     Blow out your kite, from morn 'til night,
     On boiled beef and carrots.1909, Charles Collins, Fred Murray, “Boiled Beef and Carrots”, performed by Harry Champion; republished in John Mullen, “The Songs and Their Content”, in The Show Must Go On!: Popular Song in Britain...

Noun (3)

UK/ˈkiːtɛ/

kite (plural kite)

1. A measure of weight equivalent to ¹⁄₁₀ deben (about 0.32 ounces or 9.1 grams).
   • […] in the great Harris papyrus, […] precise quantities are recorded by weight in terms of the deben (about 2½ oz.) and the qite (¼ oz.) of gold, silver, copper and precious stones, without any reference to their value. […] Five pots of honey were bought for five qite of silver and an ox for five...1981, Pierre Montet, “The Arts and the Professions”, in A[ymer] R[obert] Maxwell-Hyslop, Margaret S[tefana] Drower, transl., Everyday Life in Egypt in the Days of Ramesses the Great, Philadelphia...
   • [I]t was found necessary to employ media of exchange, and emmer wheat and silver were both used for this purpose. The latter was particularly favoured, but it was normally treated by weight, being measured in kite (9.53 g) and deben (10 kite) in purely Egyptian contexts, though foreigners such as...1983, Allen B. Lloyd, “The Late Period, 664–323 BC”, in B[ruce] G[raham] Trigger, B[arry] J[ohn] Kemp, D[avid Bourke] O’Connor, A. B. Lloyd, Ancient Egypt: A Social History (Cambridge History of...

Proper noun capitalized: Kite

Kite (countable and uncountable, plural Kites)

1. A surname.
2. A minor city in Johnson County, Georgia, United States, named after Shaderick Kight, who chose the spelling.