mitten [ME] Although the word’s origin is uncertain, mittens often used to be made of fur, and the name may derive from French mite, a pet name for a cat which probably imitated its mewing. This implies that the fur in question was cat’s fur—the medieval world could not afford to be sentimental about its animals. The word mitten was shortened to mitt in the mid 18th century, in the sense ‘fingerless glove’. From the late 19th century mitt was also used for ‘a person’s hand’, as in to get your mitts up. See also gauntlet, glove.