I've seen the term "kinematic" used qualitatively to describe machines several times in books and on YouTube. I think I understand what kinematics is as a study, but I'm not sure what people mean when they say a structure or machine "is kinematic".
Here are two examples:
Multiple times I've seen people describe a tool with three feet as being kinematic. As in "This height gauge has three points of contact with the surface plate which makes it kinematic."
In "Precision Machine Design" there's a paragraph on machine structure where the author says "If the design is not kinematic, bearings can become overloaded by the forced geometric compliance between the structure to which the bearing rails or races are mounted and the smaller structure of the platten or spindle."