There are several brands of lubricants that have the word -kote in their name.
Eg:
Motorkote
Molykote
Lubrikote
…
and maybe others.
What does kote mean in this context?
The same thing -ola and -o-rama meant before them: A stylish suffix for your brand name, which is often something that comes in waves.
True, though -ola and -o-rama are just gibberish, whereas -kote sounds like -coat. I think the implication is just that these products coat the inner surfaces of your engine with extra lubrication properties.
And so we see another property of trade names: Implying you have something in a manner that does not legally obligate you to provide it.
I wonder if “lite” in foods can be used in the same, suggestive but non binding way?
No. The FDA strictly defines Lite/Light, as well as other such claims.
Well, you have to admit, olestra was nonbinding … and not in a good way :eek::smack:
I say it is a respelling of “coat” as in the lube coats the friction points. The question is why the manufacturer thinks Americans need the different spelling. I’ll ponder it as I eat thru my lite donut tonite
It just means “coat” as in “coating.” The ending is not confined to lubricants. There’s a popular livestock antiseptic called Blu-Kote.
Because you would have a hard time [del]trademarking[/del]protecting the usage of Motor Coat. It’s two common English words. But Motorkote, there you have a unique spelling. This is done all the time, I think to make it easier for companies to protect their trademark, like Krispy Kreme, Ty-D-Bowl, Miracle-Gro. Any attempt to misappropriate such a trademarked name would be blatant and indefensible.
Hence the second component of “screwed, blued, and tattooed”? 
And just what does this imply for the popular epilepsy drug and mood stabilizer, depakote?
What about coprolite?
Does the ‘‘k’’ bring in the suggestion of German engineering? Let’s not miss a trick in our marketing hype.
The same thing that the ‘-kake’ in Tastykake means.
It brings “bukkake” to mind?
It coats depas, obviously
This is exactly the first thing that popped into my head.
Don’t forget all the “froot” in Froot Loops®™.
Actually, when Lite / Light first became the marketing buzzword du jour in the 1980s, there were no FDA regs on the topic.
Entirely in response to rampant lying by the food industry, the FDA acted to create the regs which **Bambi **linked to.
So yes, the term “Lite” was coined by the food industry precisely to avoid having any actual obligation to do anything to the food itself while still implying it was somehow less fat-promoting than their regular product.