Etymology

kilat

K5I1L1A1T1

Today it means: Impressive, top-notch or outstanding. Full definition →

Malay kilat
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The story

  1. Malay · borrowed fromkilat“lightning-quick, (slang) impressive”
  2. English todaykilat

Unadapted borrowing from Malay kilat (“lightning-quick, (slang) impressive”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.