English Reference

Word

keith

Phoneticskei·th

/ˈkiθ/

Definitions

01male name

A1

n. a common first name for a man.

n. A masculine given name, originally transferred from a Scottish surname.

“My neighbor Keith is a very friendly man who always helps with the garden.”

“Keith Richards is widely regarded as one of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock music.”

02family name

B2

n. a family name (surname) that comes from Scotland.

n. A surname of Scottish origin, derived from a place name in East Lothian.

“The author's full name is James Keith.”

“The Keith clan played a significant role in Scottish history as the hereditary Marischals of Scotland.”

Etymology

As a Scottish surname, from the placename in Moray, Scotland, from Scottish Gaelic Cèith, meaning "wood" or "from the battleground," which is probably borrowed from Pictish ᚉᚓᚈ (cēt) meaning "wood", or a forest, from Proto-Brythonic *koɨd. * As a German surname, from Middle High German kit (“sprout, offspring”) (compare kint).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Common
Updated

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English Reference