chit

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪt

Etymology 1

Possibly from Middle English chitte 'kitten, cub'.

Noun

chit (plural chits)

1. A child or babe; a young, small, or insignificant person or animal.
2. A pert young woman.
3. A sassy (saucy) or forward young person.
4. The embryonic growing bud of a plant; a shoot; a sprout; a seedling.
5. (obsolete) An excrescence on the body, as a wart.

Verb

chit (third-person singular simple present chits, present participle chitting, simple past and past participle chitted) (UK, dialect)

1. (intransitive) To sprout; to shoot, as a seed or plant.
2. (transitive) To damage the outer layers of a seed such as Lupinus or Sophora to assist germination.

Etymology 2

From chitty from Hindi chitthi "letter", "note" from Sanskrit; from Hindi 'chit' - a small piece of paper or a note.

Noun

chit (plural chits)

1. (US and UK dated) A small sheet or scrap of paper with a hand-written note as a reminder or personal message.
2. (pharmacology) A small sheet of paper on which is written a prescription to be filled; a scrip.
3. (India, China) A signed voucher or memorandum of a small debt, as for food and drinks at a club.
4. (US, slang) A debt or favor owed in return for a prior loan or favor granted, especially a political favor.
   • 2007, New York Times, [1]

     And he is cashing in chits for her that Mr. Gore, post-impeachment, never asked him to do.

   • 2003, Linda Fairstein, The Bone Vault, Scribner, p98:

     Harry would call in a chit with some desk manager who owed him a favor.

Etymology 3

Noun

chit (plural chits)

1. A small tool used in cleaving laths. Compare: froe.

Etymology 4

Euphemistic variation of shit

Noun

chit (uncountable)

1. (US, slang, euphemistic) Alternative to using the vulgarity, shit.

Interjection

chit

1. (US, slang, euphemistic) Alternative to using the vulgarity, shit.

References

• chit in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “chit” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

Anagrams

• itch
• tich