glove

A glove is what you wear on your hand in the cold, with a separate home for every finger. Bought in pairs, and lost one at a time.

The separate fingers are what distinguish it from a mitten. English has gloves for every trade — rubber gloves, boxing gloves, gardening gloves, surgical gloves — and a car has a glove compartment that has never once held gloves. The word gives us fitting like a glove, meaning exactly right, and handling somebody with kid gloves, meaning treating them very carefully indeed.

Phrases it lives in

• fit like a glove — fit exactly, as though it were made for it
• handle with kid gloves — treat someone or something very carefully