Kith and kin

Origin of: Kith and kin

Kith and kin

Means friends and relations but the phrase is often used wrongly these days to refer to blood relatives only. Kith and kin are very old words of Norse origin. Similar words are also found in old Germanic and Frisian languages. The phrase itself appears in English before 1150 where kith were friends or acquaintances, while kin were blood relatives.