kite vs peel
Two ways of keeping an enemy at bay, but not for the same person. Kiting protects yourself by attacking while backing off; peeling protects a teammate by pushing away whoever jumps on them.
kite
Kite, attacking while retreating: hit, step back, hit again, so the chasing enemy takes damage without ever reaching their target. It is every marksman's core skill, and it is about them alone. "kite him" is advice, "kited" is a death avoided.
open the page →peel
Peel, protecting an ally: slowing, knocking back or locking down the enemies diving onto them, usually the marksman or the mage. It is the support's and the tank's job, and the word is always followed by the person protected: "peel for adc", "peel for me".
open the page →Why they get mixed up
Both words come up in the same fight, over the same target: an assassin jumping on the ADC. The difference is who acts. "kite" is addressed to the one being attacked, who must back off while hitting; "peel" is addressed to everyone else, who must step in. Typing "peel" at an ADC does nothing, they cannot peel for themselves; typing "kite" at a support does not either, nobody is chasing them.