Mite
Pronunciation
- enPR: mīt, IPA: /maɪt/Homophones: might
- Rhymes: -aɪt
Origin
Middle English mite (""), from Old English mÄ«te ("mite, tiny insect"), from Proto-Germanic *mÄ«tÇ ("biting insect"; literally, "cutter"), from Proto-Germanic *maitanÄ… ("to cut"), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ("small"). Akin to Old High German mÄ«za ("mite"), Middle Dutch mÄ«te ("moth, mite"), Dutch mijt ("moth, mite"), Danish mide ("mite").
Full definition of mite
Noun
mite
(plural mites)- A minute arachnid, of the order Acarina, of which there are many species; as, the cheese mite, sugar mite, harvest mite, etc. See Acarina.
- A small coin formerly circulated in England, rated at about a third of a farthing. The name is also applied to the lepton, a small coin used in Palestine in the time of Christ.
- 1803, William Blake, Auguries of InnocenceOne mite wrung from the lab'rer's handsShall buy and sell the miser's lands;
- A small weight; one twentieth of a grain.
- Anything very small; a minute object; a very little quantity or particle. Sometimes used adverbially.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 5, “Well,†I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.†¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.
- 1959, Frances Cavanah, Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance, Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17315/17315-8.txt:"Those trousers are a mite too big, but you'll soon grow into them."
Synonyms
- (small amount) see also .