IMO Smith and Wesson coined the term to sell small revolvers in a day when almost no one carried concealed in public. The conservative attitude of the era from the dawn of the 20th century til around the mid 1980s was that no law abiding man needed to be or should be armed without reason.
There were always those fascinated with handguns, and the appeal of the "Kit Gun" stored away, yet ready if needed sold untold thousands of J Frames.
In today's world where virtually all Americans who wish to carry do so, the term has become archaic, or anachronistic.
