Kithe

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To reveal or make something known to others ; to come into view or show oneself in a particular way
2. Showing or disclosing something so that it can be recognized ; becoming apparent or emerging into sight
3. To demonstrate a thing or bring it into the open ; to manifest oneself or appear before people

Etymology: "Kithe" is a verb meaning to reveal something to view, and it is one of those words English kept in use long after most of its relatives vanished. It descends from Old English "cȳþan," which meant to make known or to declare, and that verb traces back to a Proto-Germanic root "*kunþijaną," meaning the same thing. Its ancestry runs through the Middle English forms "kiþen" and "küthen," so the word has been part of the language continuously since the Old English period. The sense of showing, rather than merely announcing, is the one that stayed closest to the original. A word meaning "to make known" could be used for speech as easily as for display, but "kithe" settled on making something visible to the eye. Its close kin in other Germanic languages, such as the Old Norse "kunngjøra" family, share the same root idea of getting knowledge out into the open, which is a useful reminder that the word is about bringing hidden things into sight.

Synonyms: reveal, show, manifest, disclose, make known

Antonyms: conceal, hide