KITE

kite

(noun) any of several small graceful hawks of the family Accipitridae having long pointed wings and feeding on insects and small animals

kite

(noun) plaything consisting of a light frame covered with tissue paper; flown in wind at end of a string

kite

(noun) a bank check drawn on insufficient funds at another bank in order to take advantage of the float

kite

(noun) a bank check that has been fraudulently altered to increase its face value

kite

(verb) fly a kite; “Kids were kiting in the park”; “They kited the Red Dragon model”

kite

(verb) soar or fly like a kite; “The pilot kited for a long time over the mountains”

kite

(verb) get credit or money by using a bad check; “The businessman kited millions of dollars”

kite

(verb) increase the amount (of a check) fraudulently; “He kited many checks”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

kite (plural kites)

A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.

Any bird of the subfamily Milvinae, with long wings and weak legs, feeding mostly on carrion and spending long periods soaring; specifically, the red kite (Milvus milvus) and the black kite (Milvus migrans).

Synonym: glede

A bird of the genus Elanus, having thin pointed wings, that preys on rodents and hunts by hovering; also, any bird of related genera in the subfamily Elaninae.

Some species in the subfamily Perninae.

(figuratively) A rapacious person.

A lightweight toy or other device, traditionally flat and shaped like a triangle with a segment of a circle attached to its base or like a quadrilateral (see sense 9), carried on the wind and tethered and controlled from the ground by one or more lines.

A tethered object which deflects its position in a medium by obtaining lift and drag in reaction with its relative motion in the medium.

(astrology) A planetary configuration wherein one planet of a grand trine is in opposition to an additional fourth planet.

(banking, slang) A blank cheque; a fraudulent cheque, such as one issued even though there are insufficient funds to honour it, or one that has been altered without authorization.

(finance, slang) An accommodation bill (“a bill of exchange endorsed by a reputable third party acting as a guarantor, as a favour and without compensation”).

(cycling, slang) A rider who is good at climbs but less good at descents.

(geometry) A polygon resembling the shape of a traditional toy kite (sense 3): a quadrilateral having two pairs of edges of equal length, the edges of each pair touching each other at one end.

(military aviation, slang) An aeroplane or aircraft.

(sailing, dated) In a square-rigged ship: originally a sail positioned above a topsail; later a lightweight sail set above the topgallants, such as a studding sail or a jib topsail.

(sailing, slang) A spinnaker (“supplementary sail to a mainsail”).

(Britain, dialectal) The brill (Scophthalmus rhombus), a type of flatfish.

(US, prison slang) A (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially one passed illegally into, within, or out of a prison.

Verb

kite (third-person singular simple present kites, present participle kiting, simple past and past participle kited)

(transitive) To cause (something) to move upwards rapidly like a toy kite; also (chiefly, US, figuratively) to cause (something, such as costs) to increase rapidly.

(transitive, slang) To tamper with a document or record by increasing the quantity of something beyond its proper amount so that the difference may be unlawfully retained; in particular, to alter a medical prescription for this purpose by increasing the number of pills or other items.

(transitive, video games) To keep ahead of (an enemy) in order to attack repeatedly from a distance, without exposing oneself to danger.

(ambitransitive) To (cause to) glide in the manner of a kite (“bird”).

Synonym: soar

(ambitransitive, rare) To manipulate like a toy kite; also, usually preceded by an inflection of go: to fly a toy kite.

(ambitransitive, banking, slang) To write or present (a cheque) on an account with insufficient funds, either to defraud or expecting that funds will become available by the time the cheque clears.

(ambitransitive, US, slang, by extension) To steal.

(intransitive) To travel by kite, as when kitesurfing.

(intransitive, figuratively) To move rapidly; to rush.

(intransitive, engineering, nautical) To deflect sideways in the water.

(intransitive, US, prison slang) To pass a (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially illegally into, within, or out of a prison.

Etymology 2

Noun

kite (plural kites)

(Northern England, Scotland, dialectal) The stomach; the belly.

Etymology 3

Noun

kite (plural kite)

(Egyptology) A measure of weight equivalent to 1/10 deben (about 0.32 ounces or 9.1 grams).

Anagrams

• tike

Proper noun

Kite (plural Kites)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Kite is the 6258th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 5457 individuals. Kite is most common among White (89.79%) individuals.

Anagrams

• tike

Source: Wiktionary


Kite, n. Etym: [OE. kyte, AS.c; cf. W. cud, cut.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any raptorial bird of the subfamily Milvinæ, of which many species are known. They have long wings, adapted for soaring, and usually a forked tail.

Note: The European species are Milvus ictinus and M. govinda; the sacred or Brahmany kite of India is Haliastur Indus; the American fork-tailed kite is the Nauclerus furcatus.

2. Fig. : One who is rapacious. Detested kite, thou liest. Shak.

3. A light frame of wood or other material covered with paper or cloth, for flying in the air at the end of a string.

4. (Naut.)

Definition: A lofty sail, carried only when the wind is light.

5. (Geom.)

Definition: A quadrilateral, one of whose diagonals is an axis of symmetry. Henrici.

6. Fictitious commercial paper used for raising money or to sustain credit, as a check which represents no deposit in bank, or a bill of exchange not sanctioned by sale of goods; an accommodation check or bill. [Cant]

7. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The brill. [Prov. Eng. ] Flying kites. (Naut.) See under Flying.

– Kite falcon (Zoöl.), an African falcon of the genus Avicida, having some resemblance to a kite.

Kite, v. i.

Definition: To raise money by "kites;" as, kiting transactions. See Kite, 6. [Cant]

Kite, n.

Definition: The belly. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 November 2024

SHEET

(noun) (nautical) a line (rope or chain) that regulates the angle at which a sail is set in relation to the wind


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