- its
- see it. Developed late 16c. from it + 's, gen. or possessive ending, to replace his (which is used throughout the K.J.V.) as the neut. possessive pronoun. Originally written it's, and still deliberately spelled thus by some writers until early 1800s.
- itself
- late 14c., from O.E. hit sylf, from it + self (q.v.). Since 17c. usually regarded as its self (cf. its own self).
- itsy-bitsy
- 1938, "charmingly small," from itty (1798, in a letter of Jane Austen), baby-talk form of little.
- benefits
- "financial support (especially for medical expenses) to which one is entitled through employment or membership," 1895, pl. of benefit.
- grits
- O.E. grytt (pl. grytta) "coarse meal, groats, grits," from P.Gmc. *grutja-, from the same root as grit, the two words having influenced one another in sound development. In Amer.Eng., corn-based grits and hominy (q.v.) were used interchangeably in Colonial times. Later, hominy meant whole kernels that had been skinned but not ground, but in the U.S. South, hominy meant skinned kernels that could be ground coarsely to make grits. In New Orleans, whole kernels are big hominy and ground kernels little hominy.
- jujitsu
- 1875, from Japanese jujutsu, from ju "softness, gentleness" (from Chinese jou "soft, gentle") + jutsu "art, science," from Chinese shu, shut.
- kitsch
- 1926, from Ger., lit. "gaudy, trash," from dial. kitschen "to smear."
- off-limits
- OED says first attested 1952, in a U.S. military (Korean War) sense, but almost certainly from WWII (cf. Bill Mauldin cartoons), if not WWI.
- two bits
- "quarter," 1730, in ref. to the Mexican real, a large coin that was divided into eight bits (cf. piece of eight; see piece); hence two-bit (adj.) "cheap, tawdry," first recorded 1929.
- Whitsunday
- "Pentecost," late O.E. Hwita Sunnandæg "white Sunday," possibly from the white baptismal robes worn by newly baptized Christians on this day.