a soldier's kit
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
His outfit. A small three-stringed fiddle, formerly used by dancing masters, was called a kit. The word is from the obsolete gitterne (Fr. quitterne), a sort of guitar.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a soldier's kit” mean?
His outfit. A small three-stringed fiddle, formerly used by dancing masters, was called a kit. The word is from the obsolete gitterne (Fr. quitterne), a sort of guitar.
Is “a soldier's kit” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.