Etymology

kind

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Today it means: A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together. Full definition →

Middle English kynde ← Old English cynd ← Proto-West Germanic *kundi
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kind · noun1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kinþiz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kundi
  3. Old English · inherited fromcynd
  4. Middle English · inherited fromkynde
  5. English todaykind

From Middle English kynde, kinde, from Old English cynd, ġecynd (“inherent nature, disposition, kind, gender, generation, race”), from Proto-West Germanic *kundi, from Proto-Germanic *kinþiz, related to Proto-Germanic *kunją (“race, kin”) and Old English cennan (“to bear, give birth”). Cognate with Old High German gikunt (“nature, kind”), Icelandic kind (“race, species, kind”). Doublet of gens, genesis, and jati. See also kin.

kind · adjective2

  1. Old English · derived fromcynd
  2. Old English · inherited fromcynde
  3. Middle English · inherited fromkynde
  4. English todaykind

From Middle English kynde, kinde, from Old English cynde, ġecynde (“innate, natural, native”), from Old English cynd, ġecynd (“nature, kind”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.