zit

Etymology

Uncertain origin, first attested as 1960s slang. Compare English chit (“pimple, wart”), German Zitze (“teat, nipple”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪt

Noun

zit (plural zits)

1. (US, slang) pimple
   • 1968, J. Lawrence Hagen, "Pinball 1959", Generation volume 20–21, page 182:

     I can't help thinking how little good all that working out did him. I think the only thing he ever got out of it was more zits.

   • 1987Adventures in Babysitting, 00:06:35:

     Brad: Sara, did you take my Clearasil again? Sara: I ran out of brown (paint). Brad: Great. How am I supposed to cover up my zits?

See also

• acne
• blackhead
• pimple
• spot

Anagrams

• tiz

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /zɪt/

Noun

zit m (plural zitten, diminutive zitje n)

1. the act of sitting
2. (by extension) (Belgium) an exam term at university or hogeschool
3. seat
4. (by extension) a seat in a legislative or regulatory group (e.g., in a parliament or a board)

Verb

zit

1. first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of zitten
2. imperative of zitten

Etymology

From Old High German zīt, from Proto-Germanic *tīdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *dīti- (“time, period”), from *dī- (“time”).

Noun

zīt f

1. time