kit-cat

English

Sir John Vanbrugh in Godfrey Kneller's kit-cat portrait

Alternative forms

• kitcat, kitkat, kit-kat

Etymology

So called because the size was adopted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for the portraits he painted of the members of London's 18th-century Kit-Cat Club, said to have been named after innkeeper Christopher Catt.

Noun

kit-cat (plural kit-cats)

1. (historical, art) A short portrait, measuring 28 or 29 by 36 inches, less than half-length, but including the hands.

Further reading

• “kit-cat”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.