kiths

Noun

kith (usually uncountable, plural kiths)

1. (archaic, obsolete, usually) Friends and acquaintances.
   • Alack, would that Edward listened more to me and less to the queen’s kith! These Woodvilles!1843, Edward Bulwer[-]Lytton, The Last of the Barons, London; New York, N.Y.: George Routledge and Sons […], →OCLC
2. (Northern England, Scotland, countable, usually, rustic) An acquaintance or a friend.
3. (countable, uncountable, usually, social work) 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...2024 May 14, W. Kapurura, “Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto v. A.M., 2024 ONCJ 235”, in CanLII, retrieved 30 May 2026