identikit

English

Etymology

Blend of identification +‎ kit, originally a trademark.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /aɪˈdɛntɪkɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US, weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /aɪˈdɛntəkɪt/

Noun

identikit (plural identikits)

1. A picture of a person, reconstructed from strips showing facial features selected to match witnesses' descriptions; used by the police to build a likeness of a person sought for a crime.

   Synonyms: police sketch, composite sketch, facial composite, photofit

Translations

facial composite

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 容貌拼圖／容貌拼图 (róngmào pīntú), 拼圖認人／拼图认人 (pīntú rènrén)

• Dutch: compositietekening (nl) f, compositiefoto (nl) f
• French: portrait-robot (fr) m
• German: Phantombild (de) n
• Italian: identikit (it) m
• Macedonian: фоторобот m (fotorobot)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fantombilde (no) n, fantomtegning m or f

• Polish: portret pamięciowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: retrato-robô m
• Russian: фоторо́бот (ru) m (fotoróbot)
• Spanish: retrato robot m (Spain), retrato hablado m (Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela), identikit m (Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay)
• Swedish: fantombild (sv) c

Adjective

identikit (not comparable) (UK)

1. (informal, chiefly derogatory) Indistinguishable from each other; mass-produced or mass marketed.
   • 2006, J. Christopher Holloway, Neil Taylor, The business of tourism, page 211:

     These identikit destinations have been developed through the activities of multinational tourism organizations.

   • 2010, Christine White, Directors and Designers, page 172:

     These identikit productions do not require specific performers to bring a new interpretation but require the repetition of the successful event for the paying audience.

   • 2012, Hannah Richell, The Secrets of the Tides, →ISBN, page 363:

     She guesses it is only a few years old; one of seven identikit mock-Tudor mansions built on a recent cul-de-sac development just outside Chichester.

   • 2022 December 4, Phil McNulty, “England 3-0 Senegal”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Bellingham is the identikit modern midfield player and the manner in which he combined with Foden for England's second goal, completed by a rousing finish from Kane, was a glimpse into a golden future.

Synonyms

• cookie-cutter

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English identikit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.den.tiˈkit/, /iˈdɛn.ti.kit/
• Rhymes: -it, -ɛntikit
• Hyphenation: i‧den‧ti‧kìt, i‧dèn‧ti‧kit

Noun

identikit m (invariable)

1. identikit

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English identikit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /identiˈkit/ [i.ð̞ẽn̪.t̪iˈkit̪]
• Rhymes: -it
• Syllabification: i‧den‧ti‧kit

Noun

identikit m (plural identikits)

1. (Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay) identikit, police sketch, composite sketch, facial composite

   Synonyms: (Spain) retrato robot, (Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela) retrato hablado

Further reading

• “identikit”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014