Adjacent Words

Mite definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MITE, n. [Heb. small.]
1. A very small insect of the genus Acarus.
2. In Scripture, a small piece of money, the quarter of a denarius, or about seven English farthings.
3. Any thing proverbially very small; a very little particle or quantity.
4. The twentieth part of a grain.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a slight but appreciable amount; "this dish could use a touch of garlic" [syn: touch, hint, tinge, mite, pinch, jot, speck, soupcon]
2: any of numerous very small to minute arachnids often infesting animals or plants or stored foods

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English m?te; akin to Middle Dutch mite mite, small copper coin Date: before 12th century any of numerous small acarid arachnids that often infest animals, plants, and stored foods and include important disease vectors II. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Middle Dutch; Middle French, small Flemish copper coin, from Middle Dutch Date: 14th century 1. a small coin or sum of money 2. a. a very little ; bit b. a very small object or creature

Britannica Concise

Any of about 20,000 species of tiny arachnids (subclass Acari, sometimes Acarina or Acarida). Species range from microscopic to 0.25 in. (6 mm) long. Mites live in water and soil, on plants, and as plant and animal parasites. Both parasitic and nonparasitic forms transmit plant and animal diseases. Itch mites (family Sarcoptidae), which burrow into the skin of humans and animals, cause the highly contagious disease scabies. A few species transmit tapeworms to cattle. Grain mites (family Glycyphagidae) damage stored products and irritate the skin of those who handle the products. House dust allergy is caused by species of the common genus Dermatophagoides. See also chigger.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. any small arachnid of the order Acari, having four pairs of legs when adult. Derivatives: mity adj. Etymology: OE mite f. Gmc 2. n. & adv. --n. 1 hist. a Flemish copper coin of small value. 2 any small monetary unit. 3 a small object or person, esp. a child. 4 a modest contribution; the best one can do (offered my mite of comfort). --adv. (usu. prec. by a) colloq. somewhat (is a mite shy). Etymology: ME f. MLG, MDu. mite f. Gmc: prob. the same as MITE(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mite Mite, n. [AS. m[=i]te mite (in sense 1); akin to LG. mite, D. mijt, G. miete, OHG. m[=i]za; cf. Goth. maitan to cut.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) A minute arachnid, of the order Acarina, of which there are many species; as, the cheese mite, sugar mite, harvest mite, etc. See Acarina. 2. [D. mijt; prob. the same word.] A small coin formerly circulated in England, rated at about a third of a farthing. The name is also applied to a small coin used in Palestine in the time of Christ. Two mites, which make a farthing. --Mark xii. 49. 3. A small weight; one twentieth of a grain. 4. Anything very small; a minute object; a very little quantity or particle. For in effect they be not worth a myte. --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(mites) 1. A mite means to a small extent or degree. It is sometimes used to make a statement less extreme. I can't help feeling just a mite uneasy about it... = a bit, a touch PHRASE: PHR adj/adv 2. Mites are very tiny creatures that live on plants, for example, or in animals' fur. ...an itching skin disorder caused by parasitic mites. N-COUNT: usu pl

Easton's Bible Dictionary

contraction of minute, from the Latin minutum, the translation of the Greek word lepton, the very smallest bronze of copper coin (Luke 12:59; 21:2). Two mites made one quadrans, i.e., the fourth part of a Roman as, which was in value nearly a halfpenny. (See FARTHING.)

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mit (lepton): The smallest copper or bronze coin current among the Jews. They were first struck by the Maccabean princes with Hebrew legends, and afterward by the Herods and the Roman procurators with Greek legends. The "widow's mite" mentioned in Mr 12:42 and Lu 21:2 was probably of the first kind, since those with Greek legends were regarded as unlawful in the temple service. According to Mark, the lepton was only half a kodrantes (Latin quadrans), which would indicate a value of about one-fourth of a cent or half an English farthing.

See MONEY.

H. Porter

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Particle, atom, monad, corpuscle, molecule.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A nick name for a cheesemonger: from the small insect of that name found in cheese.

Moby Thesaurus

ace, arachnid, arthropod, atom, bairn, bawbee, beetle, bit, bug, cat flea, caterpillar, centipede, cherub, chigoe, child, chilopod, chit, cockroach, crab, crown, crumb, dab, daddy longlegs, darling, diplopod, dog flea, dole, dollar, dot, dram, dribble, driblet, drop, droplet, dwarf, farthing, fiver, flea, fleck, florin, fly, flyspeck, fourpence, fourpenny, fragment, gnat, gobbet, grain, granule, grayback, groat, guinea, hair, half crown, half dollar, half rations, halfpenny, handful, harvestman, hexapod, innocent, insect, iota, jigger, jot, kid, kitten, lamb, lambkin, larva, little, little bit, little bugger, little fellow, little guy, little innocent, little one, little tad, little tot, lota, louse, mag, maggot, meg, mere subsistence, microbe, microorganism, midge, millepede, millipede, minim, minimum, minutia, minutiae, modicum, molecule, monkey, mote, new pence, nipper, nit, np, nutshell, nymph, offspring, ounce, p, parasite, particle, pebble, peewee, pence, penny, pinch, pinhead, pinpoint, pittance, point, pony, pound, quid, red bug, roach, sand flea, scorpion, scrap, scrimption, scruple, shaver, shilling, short allowance, short commons, sixpence, smidgen, smitch, snip, snippet, speck, spider, spoonful, spot, starvation wages, tad, tarantula, tenner, thimbleful, threepence, threepenny bit, thrippence, tick, tiny bit, tittle, tot, trifling amount, trivia, tuppence, twopence, vanishing point, vermin, wee tot, weevil, whit