fit

fit · adjective, verb, noun¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromfit“an adversary of equal power”
2. English todayfit

Possibly from Middle English fit (“an adversary of equal power”), of uncertain further origin. The original sense appears to have been "to marshal or deploy troops", which shifted to "to suit (troops to a certain location" > "suitable", and may be further related to Icelandic fitja (“to web, knit, cast on”).

fit · noun²

1. Old English · inherited fromfitt“song”
2. English todayfit

Unknown, possibly from Old English fitt (“song”), or from the sense of fitted to length. Compare Old Saxon *fittea (attested in the borrowed Latin vittea).

fit · noun, verb³

1. Latin · derived fromfīgere
2. Old English · inherited fromfitt“conflict”
3. Middle English · inherited fromfit“hardship, danger”
4. English todayfit

Unknown. From Middle English fit (“hardship, danger”), possibly from Old English fitt (“conflict”)—a word only attested once. Compare Cornish fit (“game match, bout”); or else, maybe cognate with Italian fitta (“sudden and stabbing pain”) (see further at Latin fīgere).

fit · verb⁴

Formed from fight on the model of bite:bit and light:lit.

fit · noun⁵

Clipping of outfit.

Words from the same roots