chit
n. countablen. a small piece of paper that shows you owe money for something, like a drink or a meal. It is often used in clubs or offices to keep track of small debts.
n. a short signed note or voucher representing a small debt, typically for food or drink. Often used in institutional settings like social clubs or military messes to facilitate internal accounting.
He signed a chit for his coffee at the private club.
Instead of paying cash at the bar, members simply sign a chit which is added to their monthly bill.
The system of signing chits for daily expenses allowed the officers to settle their accounts in a single transaction at the end of each month.
From Middle English chitte (“a young animal, cub, whelp”), from Old English ċytten, ċietten, ċitten, from Proto-West Germanic kittīn, from Proto-Germanic *kittīną (“young animal, fawn, kid”). Cognate with Scots chit (“chit”), Low German kitte (“young animal”), German Kitz (“fawn, kid”). See also kid.
From Middle English chit, chitte, from Old English ċīþ (“germ, seed, sprout, shoot”), from Proto-Germanic kīþą (“sprout”), from Proto-Indo-European ǵī-, *ǵey(H)- (“to divide, part, split open, sprout”). Cognate with Middle Dutch kiede (“sprout”), dialectal German Keid (“sprout”). Doublet of chive (etymology 2) and scion.
From chitty, from Hindi चिट्ठी (ciṭṭhī, “letter, note, written message”). Doublet of cure.
Perhaps from specialized technical use of Etymology 2, above, “a bud; an excrescence” (Hunter 1882).
Euphemistic variation of shit.
Commonly used in British English and former Commonwealth territories; often refers specifically to a voucher for a small sum.