bitn.1
/bɪt/, U.S. /bɪt/ a. The act or action of biting; a bite n. at a bit: at one bite; also fig. Obs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > biting > [noun]
bitc893
bitingc1175
morsure?a1425
bite1499
c893 tr. Orosius Hist. i. vii, Gnættas comon ofer eall þæt land..mid fýrsmeortendum bitum.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 370 Hundes heafod gebærned to acxan..þa wedendan bitas gehæleþ.
c1300 K. Alis. 5436 Her bytt envenymed was.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8500 Adam..thoru a bitte [Gött. bitt, Trin. Cambr. bite] broght all in blam.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 37 Bytt, or bytynge, morsus.
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. II. iv. ix. sig. Lll.iijv/1, The fretting bit of ye tooth of sinne.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre iii. xviii. 138 He..requested their aid onely for fourty dayes, hoping to chop up these Albigenses at a bit.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler 55 You may, if you stand close, be sure of a bit, but not sure to catch him. View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun] > sting of
bitc1175
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > do harm [verb (intransitive)] > be harmful to one
to be one's bitc1175
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > [noun] > bout or attack of
onfalleOE
cothec1000
bitc1175
accessc1300
attacha1400
shota1400
swalma1400
storm1540
excess?1541
accession1565
qualm1565
oncome1570
grasha1610
attachment1625
ingruence1635
turn1653
attack1665
fit1667
surprise1670
drow1727
tossa1732
irruption1732
sick1808
tout1808
whither1808
spell1856
go1867
whip1891
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 123 Morsus tuus ero inferne..þu helle ic wulle beon þin bite.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 213 Þenne..he..bit deaðes bite.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 204 This is he..which is deeth to deeth, and a bitte to helle [L. inferni morsus].
1610 Bible (Douay) II. Hosea xiii. 14 Thy bitte wil I be ô hel.
a. The cutting or penetrating action of an edged weapon. Obs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > [noun]
bita1000
kerfc1000
slittingc1175
carving?c1225
chop1362
cuttinga1398
hacking1398
scissure?a1425
garsingc1440
racing?a1450
incision1474
secting1507
raze1530
chopping1548
scotching1551
hackling1564
slashing1596
carbonadoing1599
kinsing1599
insection1653
secation1656
scission1676
gash1694
inciding1694
haggling1761
cut1808
shear1809
carve1888
OE Beowulf 2060 Æfter billes bite blodfag swefeð.
a1000 Fata Apost. (Gr.) 34 Þurh sweordes bite.
a1225 Leg. Kath. 2436 Ich abide her þe bite of swordes egge.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy xv. 6494 Two speirus..of fell bite.
ΚΠ
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy xi. 4702 Þai..cast ancres with cables þat kene were of byt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > [noun]
meatshiplOE
eatingc1175
dietingc1400
foodc1450
feedingc1475
manducationa1513
bit1523
comestion1595
repast1598
victitation1598
trencheringa1612
cibation1651
oneration1651
esure1657
grubbing1819
noshinga1941
1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng iv. f. 4, The whole commen is his owne, and his tenauntes haue..onely bytte of mouthe with their catell.
a1600 in Risdon Surv. Devon §308 (1810) 315 Bitt grass for all hys beasts.
1628 R. Sanderson Two Serm. Paules-Crosse i. 53 An heyfer..,going alwayes at full bit.
1635 R. Sanderson Two Serm. S. Pauls Crosse & Grantham i. 57 An idle servant..good at bit, and nothing else.
4. Food to bite, victuals. Chiefly dial.
ΚΠ
1719 Sc. Presbyterian Eloquence 36 (Jam.) He desires no more in the world, but a bit and a brat; that is only as much food and raiment as nature craves.
1839 T. Hood Sweep's Complaint in Hood's Own 414 Here's a precious merry Christmas, I'm blest if I can earn either bit or sup!
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies i. 41 Some one will give me a bit and a sup.
II. The ‘biting’ part of anything.† 5. The cutting blade or edge of an edged tool, axe, spade, etc. (obs.); the point of a pickaxe.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > [noun] > cutting part of > blade or edge of
bitc1330
blade1330
scissor blade1802
mouth1851
scissor leg1860
c1330 Arth. & Merl. 4808 The Bite was to fot long.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy xvi. 7316 With the bit of his blade..He clefe hym to the coler.
1660 R. Sharrock Hist. Propagation & Improvem. Veg. 109 Get a strong hoe, of a good broad bit.
1682 N. Grew Anat. Plants iv. iv. iv. 205 The Lobes..are shaped like the Bitt of a Spade.
1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. Oiij, We strike or hit.. with the Bit or Point of the Hack.
6. The biting or cutting end or part of a tool; spec. the movable boring-piece of a drill (e.g. brace and bit, stock and bit), or a similar tool for use with the ratchet, drilling machine, boring machine, etc.; the borer for clearing the vent of a gun; the cutting-iron of a plane, the nipping parts or jaws of tongs, pincers, and similar tools.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > [noun] > cutting part of
headOE
bit1594
web1600
cutting edge1825
1594 H. Platt Jewell House i. 27 A long Auger or Percer, with seuerall large bittes which he may put on and take off at his pleasure.
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. v. 91 The Gimblet..hath a Worm at the end of its Bit.
1693 M. Lister in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 869 The superlative hardning of the Heads and Bitts of Tools.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Cannon, The bit, or priming-iron, is a kind of large needle..serving to clear the inside of the touch-hole.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 253 The Stock is accompanied with several bits, or cutters, made of steel.
1881 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. 234 The fine-boring bit..tends in a great measure to set the barrel tolerably straight.
7. The part of a key, at right angles to the barrel or shank, which grips the levers of the lock.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > key > parts of key > bit
bit1644
key bit1699
web1754
1644 Louth (Lincs.) Churchwardens' Accts. (MS) For one new bit for a key 4d.
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. ii. 23 To every ward on the Plates you must make a slit or ward in the Bit of the Key.
1855 A. C. Hobbs Locks (1868) v. 58 Bit or Bitt, is the name given, somewhat indefinitely, either to the whole flat part of a key, or to the small stepped portions of it.
8.
a. The mouthpiece of a horse's bridle, consisting of the metal bit-mouth, and adjacent parts, to which the reins are attached. (It is not clear whether the word in this sense signifies that which the horse bites, or that which bites or grips the horse's mouth. Old English had bitol bridle, frænum; Old Norse bitull, bitill bit of a bridle; the Danish is bid, Swedish bett, Dutch gebit, German gebisz.)
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > bit
kevela1300
barnaclea1382
bitc1385
molanc1400
bridle bit1438
snafflea1533
titup1537
bastonet?1561
cannon?1561
scatch1565
cannon bit1574
snaffle-bit1576
port mouth1589
watering snaffle1593
bell-bit1607
campanel1607
olive1607
pear-bit1607
olive-bit1611
port bit1662
neck-snaffle1686
curb-bit1688
masticador1717
Pelham1742
bridoon1744
slabbering-bit1753
hard and sharp1787
Weymouth1792
bridoon-bit1795
mameluke bit1826
Chiffney-bit1834
training bit1840
ring snaffle1850
gag-snaffle1856
segundo1860
half-moon bit1875
stiff-bit1875
twisted mouth1875
thorn-bit1886
Scamperdale1934
bit-mouth-
c1385 Chaucer Legend Good Women 1208 The fomy brydil with the bit [v.r. bitte] of gold.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2310 With þe barbe of þe bitte bi þe bare nek.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 37 Bytt of a brydylle, lupatum.
1623 Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 57 Stop their mouthes with stubborn Bits & spurre 'em. View more context for this quotation
1731 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Bitt [with Horsemen], in general signifies the whole machine of a bridle, as the bit-mouth, the branches, the curb, the sevil holes, the tranchefil, and the cross-chains; sometimes it is used only for the bit-mouth in particular.
1850 E. B. Browning tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound (rev. ed.) in Poems (new ed.) I. 160 Steeds, that love the bit They champ at.
b. fig.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > [noun] > means of restraint or restraining force
bridleeOE
bridea1425
restraint1523
aweband1531
bit1546
retentive1580
control1594
curb1613
hank1613
constriction1650
retinue1651
check1661
spigot1780
brake1875
way-chain1884
tab1889
inhibitor1902
check-cord1908
iron maiden1912
inhibition1932
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. viii. sig. kii, I shuld haue bridled her fyrst with rough byt.
?1614 W. Drummond Sonnet: With Griefe in Hart in Poems Not feeling Honors Bit, nor Reasons Raine.
1789 J. Wolcot Wks. (1812) II. 118 Now calmly Camden takes the bit, And trots so mildly under Master Pitt.
c. transf. A like contrivance in any apparatus.
ΚΠ
1660 Marquis of Worcester Water-comm. Engine 15 The..Engine [has] A Helm or Stern with Bitt and Reins, wherewith any Child may..controul the whole Operation.
d. to draw bit: to stop one's horse by pulling at the reins; hence fig., to stop, slacken speed; on the bit: (of a horse) pulling at the bit or ridden on a tight rein; also transf.: off the bit: ridden on a loose rein; to take the bit in his teeth (of a horse): i.e. so that it cannot hurt the mouth; hence, to become unmanageable, to be beyond restraint; also fig.; up to the bit: up to full speed allowed by the degree of restraint in which a horse is held by the bit; also transf. (Cf. bridle n. 1.)
ΚΠ
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah 521 Neither yet taking the bit perversely in his teeth.
1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. iii. 171 And for three years has rid your Wit And Passion without drawing Bit.
1782 W. Cowper Table Talk in Poems 685 Spend~thrift..never drawing bit.
1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art i. 28 If he..takes the bit fairly in his teeth.
1859 J. S. Rarey Art Taming Horses (new ed.) viii. 126 Your legs are to be used to force your horse forward up to the bit... Unless a horse rides up to the bit you have no control over him.
1878 G. J. Whyte-Melville Riding Recoll. v. 92 Keeping the rebel up to his bit with legs and spurs if necessary.
1889 Lady C. Campbell D. Blake v. 95 ‘It's the only way to treat women,’ he thought; ‘they will always come up to the bit if you show who is the master.’
1890 Field 6 Sept. 393 At the top of the hill we cast off our leader, the remaining four go in their collars and up to their bits.
1928 Daily Tel. 16 Oct. 19/1 He was going so strongly and ‘on the bit’ that it took Dines nearly two furlongs to pull him up in his own time.
1958 J. Hislop From Start to Finish vi. 35 All work except trials or semi-trials..is done ‘on the bit’. This means that the horse is being ridden on a tight rein and is not galloping flat out.
1958 J. Hislop From Start to Finish viii. 66 There is a vast difference between sitting against a horse when he is on the bit and riding him out when he is off the bit.
1962 Listener 1 Nov. 739/3 North remained on the bit for so long [in Bridge bidding] that his partner's interest in a slam could not be awakened.
9. techn. Applied to parts of various mechanical contrivances; e.g. the copper head of a soldering-iron; a short sliding piece of tube in a cornet for modifying the tone; the joint connecting the stretcher and rib of an umbrella; the earlike projections above the bowl of a spoon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > cutlery > spoon > parts of
stalka1423
slipc1530
shank1688
bit1703
heel1801
rat's tail1878
society > occupation and work > equipment > metalworking equipment > [noun] > soldering equipment > part of
bita1877
1703 London Gaz. No. 3895/4 7 Silver Spoons, no Marks, but branched on the tops, and the outsides of the Bits, etc.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 289/2 The copper piece of a soldering-tool riveted to an iron shank. A copper-bit.
1893 Spons' Mech. Own Book (ed. 4) 101 A soldering bit may be made by taking a piece of stout brass wire..about 6 in. long [etc.].
1944 Electronic Engin. 16 343 The handle does not tend to become unduly hot in spite of the user's hand being so near the copper bit.
Compounds
C1. comb.
bit-bridle n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > halter or bridle
haltera1000
bridleOE
brake1430
gorel1480
watering bridle1502
mollet-bridle1503
headgear1538
slipe1586
chase-halter1607
branks1657
bit-bridle1676
curb-bridle1677
chain-bridle1690
blind-halter1711
ox-riem1817
blind-bridle1833
bell-bridle1836
training halter1842
hackamore1850
Pelham bridle1875
quoiler1876
knee-halter1892
war bridle1962
side pull1965
1676 London Gaz. No. 1078/4 A brown leather Saddle..and a Bitt Bridle.
bit-chain n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > bit-maker
lorimerc1230
bridle-bitter?1518
bit-maker1902
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > bit > parts of
cannon?1561
cheek?1561
port?1561
player1566
upset mouth1566
rowel1590
mouth1607
upset1607
liberty1667
mouthpiece1728
top-roll1728
cheekpiece1864
branch1884
bit-maker1902
1902 Daily Chron. 26 Sept. 3/6 Something wrong with the bit-chain.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 5 June 10/1 Bombardier Mueller deposed that Thamme had struck him several times with his fist and bit-chains.
bit-maker n.
ΚΠ
1574 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. 113 Alexander the great did write vnto Pulion his bit maker.
1766 J. Entick Surv. London in New Hist. London IV. 73 This company of Loriners or Bitt-makers.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
bit-mouth n. (see sense 8a).
bit-rein n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > reins
rein1297
bridle reina1382
bridea1425
linkc1450
leading-rein1483
quinsell1598
bearing rein1790
bridoon rein1795
check-reina1809
ribbon1813
ribands1815
bit-rein1833
check-piece1833
nose-rein1844
lines1852
reinage1863
check1868
overdraw1870
single line1875
overcheck1963
1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. ii. 44 The bridoon is to be taken in the same manner as the bit reins when used singly.
C2. Comb.
bit-brace n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > drill > brace
wimble?1362
brace1567
bit-brace1881
wheel brace1920
brace-drill-
1881 Mechanic §266. 100 The bit-brace or stock-and-bit is the..principal tool in the second division of boring tools.
bit-holder n.
bit-stock n.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2016).
bitn.2
a. The portion of food bitten off at once; as much as is taken in the mouth at once; a mouthful; = bite n. 4. Obs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > amounts of food > [noun] > small quantity > bitten or licked
bitc1000
bite1535
lick1603
nibble1968
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xiii. 27 Þa æfter þam bitan [Hatton, bite] satanas eode on hyne.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 207 And yspyted hym þoru out myd an yrene spyte, And rostede in þys grete fure to abbe þe folle byte.
1377 Langland Piers Plowman B. xviii. 200 Þe bite þat þei eten.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Miiiv/1, Bit, buccella.., minutal.
1590 Spenser Faerie Queene i. viii. sig. H3v, His bare thin cheekes for want of better bits.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Spanish Curat ii. iv, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. F/2, He'll eat but halfe a dozen bits, and rise immediatly.
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. vi. iii. sig. Nn2v, When we dip them in Vinegar, we may, for sauce to one bit, devour alive a schole of little Animals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animal food > [noun] > fodder > cut green fodder
bit?1523
green food1658
greenfeed1754
verdage1775
soil1868
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxxv, And there be to moche grasse in a close: the cattell shall fede the worse, and good bytte to ye erth is sufficient.
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 151/2 The verie asses may haue a bit there, as we say in common prouerbes.
2. [This passes into the sense of:] Morsel, small piece (of food), without actual reference to biting. Hence dainty bit, tit-bit, etc.
ΚΠ
?c1200 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8640 He badd tatt ȝho shollde himm ec An bite brædess brinngenn.
c1550 in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 197 Gif God was made of bits of breid.
1598 Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. i. 26 Daynty bits Make rich the ribbes, but bancrout quite the wits.
c1626 Dick of Devonshire (1955) 195 England, that yeare, was but a Bitt pickd out to be layd on their kinges Trencher.
1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. ii. 67 Come, said Christiana, will you eat a bit ? View more context for this quotation
c1850 Arabian Nights (Rtldg.) 615, I had not had a bit of meat for a long time in my house.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §11. 80 We had not a bit of bread nor a drop of wine left.
3. [By extension to other things:]
a. A small piece formed by cutting, breaking, or other process; a morsel, a fragment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > small piece
fingereOE
snedec1000
seed?a1200
morselc1300
bittlock?a1400
farthingc1405
spota1413
lipetc1430
offe?1440
drewc1450
remnantc1450
parcel1483
crap1520
flakec1525
patch1528
spark1548
a piece1559
sparklec1570
inch1573
nibbling?1577
scantling1585
scrat1593
mincing1598
scantle1598
halfpenny1600
quantity1600
nip1606
kantch1608
bit1609
catch1613
scripa1617
snap1616
sippeta1625
crumblet1634
scute1635
scantleta1642
snattock1654
cantlet1700
tab1729
pallion1738
smallness1818
knobble1823
wisp1836
1609 Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. ii. 162 The fragments, scraps, the bitts and greazie reliques, Of her ore-eaten faith. View more context for this quotation
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Piecette, a shred, bit, morsell, manmocke; a small parcell, or peece.
1694 W. Salmon Iatrica i. v. 303/1 Cut also the root of Peony into little bits.
1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 14 Sept. (1965) I. 268 There is not the least bit of linnen to be seen.
1809 S. Cooper Dict. Pract. Surg. 738 To remove [from the wound] any extraneous matter, such as dirt, bits of glass, clots of blood, &c.
b. by bits: a little at a time; bit by bit: = by bits, gradually, piecemeal; also attrib. and quasi-n.; †at bits and starts: irregularly, intermittingly (cf. by fits (and starts) at fit n.2 4c); bits and bats (or bobs, pieces): fragments, oddments, odds and ends; small articles, personal belongings, bric-à-brac; (all) to bits: (reduced) to the condition of fragments; to go to bits: to go to pieces (see piece n. Phrases 2a).
ΚΠ
1596 Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. ii. sig. B7v, Workes of heauenly wits Are quite deuourd, and brought to nought by little bits ! View more context for this quotation
1624 T. Gataker Discuss. Transubstant. 176 His grace is not consumed by bits.
1632 R. Sherwood Dict. in R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues (new ed.) By bitts, par morceaux.
1704 Swift Tale of Tub x. 185 He writ it in a Week at Bits and Starts.
1728 C. Cibber Vanbrugh's Provok'd Husband iii. i. 41 The Glasses [of the coach] are all to bits.
1849 J. C. Hare Par. Serm. ii. 189 To pick it up in this way bit by bit.
1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám lxxiii. 16 This sorry Scheme of Things entire, Would not we shatter it to bits.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Ess. 1st Ser. ii. 45 This sort of bit-by-bit reform, going on for six hundred years.
1896 Yorks. Weekly Post 7 June Ah've sammed up a toathry oddments—bits an' bats mi mother ud call em.
1896 G. F. Northall Warwickshire Word-bk. 29 Gather up your bits-and-bobs, and let me lay the tea.
1905 G. B. Shaw Let. 31 July (1946) 21 We have withdrawn the play there because it went to bits.
1931 S. Jameson Richer Dust xv. 427 His right leg and his stomach had been full of what he called bits and pieces.
1933 W. S. Maugham Sheppey iii. p. 91 I'm not going to stand by and see you sneak his bits and pieces.
1936 G. Pollett Song for Sixpence iii. iv. 239 A shop of artistic ‘bits and pieces’ standing alongside the close.
1940 New Statesman 9 Nov. 466/1 There was still only the rubble, the bits and bats of broken furniture.
1955 ‘E. C. R. Lorac’ Ask Policeman ii. 25 She'd taken all her bits and pieces to uncle long ago.
1958 M. Allingham Hide my Eyes xv. 151 Give those chaps half an hour in here with their bits and bobs and there's no telling what they might be able to find.
1959 Listener 16 July 107/1 Is it all bits and pieces, a mosaic of images?
4.
a. A small portion or quantity, a little (of anything material or immaterial). Also applied to complete objects, viewed as portions or samples of a substance. to give any one a bit of one's mind: (colloq.) to express one's candid (and uncomplimentary) opinion of his conduct, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount
speckc725
littleOE
somethingc1200
lutewihtc1230
little whatc1384
ouncec1387
lap1393
smalla1400
modicumc1400
nekedc1400
spota1413
tinec1420
nieveful?a1425
handfulc1443
mouthful?c1450
smatchc1456
weec1480
quern1503
halfpennyworth1533
groatsworth1562
dram1566
shellful1578
trickle1580
snatch1592
sprinkling1594
fleck1598
snip1598
pittance1600
lick1603
fingerful1604
modicum1606
thimbleful1607
flash1614
dasha1616
pipa1616
pickle1629
drachm1635
cue1654
smack1693
starn1720
bit1753
kenning1787
minikin1787
tate1805
starnie1808
sprat1815
harl1821
skerrick1825
smallums1828
huckleberry1832
scrimp1840
thimble1841
smite1843
nattering1859
sensation1859
spurt1859
pauchlea1870
mention1891
sketch1894
sputterings1894
scrappet1901
titch1937
tad1940
skosh1959
smattering1973
1753 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 239, I shall be only allowed bits and scraps of time for it.
1815 Scott Guy Mannering I. xi. 176 There was never a prettier bit o' horseflesh in the stable o' the Gordon Arms.
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany xv. 244 Picturesque little bits of scenery.
1864 Ld. Campbell in Times 12 Apr. He had given the house what was called a ‘bit of his mind’ on the subject.
1870 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (ed. 2) I. App. 680 The vigorous little bit of English.
1873 H. Spencer Study Sociol. (1877) vii. 154 The peasant was called from his heavily-burdened bit of land.
1876 G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. ix. 122 This bit of criticism shews genuine perspicacity.
b. ellipt.
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1862 D. T. Ansted & R. G. Latham Channel Islands i. iv. 63 The rocky bits to be seen at the back of Herm.
1879 F. J. Furnivall Rep. Early Eng. Text Soc. 6 The Preface has an interesting bit..about Wine-growing in England.
c. Used depreciatively or pitifully in Sc. and north English, as in ‘bits of children’ = poor little children. Also in colloquial English, in singular, as ‘a bit of a coward’ = somewhat of a coward; ‘a little bit of a place’ = a place comparatively petty; and in understatements, in the sense of ‘a considerable; quite a (lot of)’. Cf. to take a bit of doing (sense 4h).
ΚΠ
1637 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. lxxix. 201 What is behind..but that sinners warm their bits of clay houses at a fire of their own kindling.
c1771 S. Foote Maid of Bath i. 20 Your beauty is a little bit of a jilt.
1815 Scott Guy Mannering II. 77 When Ailie has had her new gown and the bairns their bits o' duds.
1836 T. Hook Gilbert Gurney i. 7 My young companion was a bit of a poet, a bit of an artist, a bit of a musician, and..a bit of an actor.
c1855 T. Carlyle in J. A. Froude T. Carlyle: Life in London (1884) II. xxii. 170 Thy bits of debts paid.
1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner xiv. 251 As to washing its bits o' things.
1866 J. E. Brogden Provinc. Words Lincs. 229 We'd six little mouths ta fill…'twer a-bit-on-a-pill [pull].
1885 Illustr. London News 9 May 491/1 A bit of a landslip somewhere down the line.
1885 Manch. Examiner 28 May 5/3 If Riel proved himself to be a bit of a coward.
1913 ‘G. A. Birmingham’ Gen. John Regan vi. 99 He may have been a bit of a lad in his early days.
1930 ‘J. J. Connington’ Two Tickets Puzzle viii. 109 ‘That was a bit of a job,’ he said ruefully.
1966 G. W. Turner Eng. Lang. in Austral. & N.Z. iii. 48 Faced with tragedy, what can one say except ‘It's a bit of a cow’?
d. = tit-bit n. b; esp. in pl., a number of short items in a popular periodical.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > matter of or for journals > [noun] > item > short item
bit1884
1884 (title) Illustrated bits.
1892 Idler May 483 Once on board ship, I tried a course of ‘bits’, pictorial, philosophical, scientific, conundrumistic, and otherwise.
1896 Daily News 4 Nov. 2/7 This is a weekly journal called ‘Gems’. As its title suggests, the new paper will be of the ‘bits’ order.
1928 Granta 30 Nov. 172/1 If the editor of the Review were to ask me to write a little bit about Christmas I should laugh in his face.
e. a bit: a sum of money; money. (Cf. 8a) slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun]
sumc1300
sumc1300
so muchc1384
quantity1405
sum in gross (also in great)1421
summa?a1425
amount1450
sold1513
bankc1530
quantum1602
cash1677
amt.1744
figure1842
a bit1894
1894 A. Morrison Tales Mean Streets 214 Bill had been ‘left a bit’, and ‘a bit’ means money, all the world over.
1909 J. R. Ware Passing Eng. Victorian Era 31/1 To have a bit on (Sporting), to have a bet on—a ‘bit’ of money on—a race.
1928 J. Galsworthy Swan Song ii. iii. 124 He knew that everybody had ‘a bit on’ something now-a-days. For one person who ever went racing there were twenty..who didn't, and yet knew at least enough to lose their money.
f. A woman or girl (perh. ellipt. for a bit of muslin, etc.: see 4h); cf. piece n. 4b. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > woman > [noun]
wifeeOE
womaneOE
womanOE
queanOE
brideOE
viragoc1000
to wifeOE
burdc1225
ladyc1225
carlinec1375
stotc1386
marec1387
pigsneyc1390
fellowa1393
piecec1400
femalea1425
goddessa1450
fairc1450
womankindc1450
fellowessa1500
femininea1513
tega1529
sister?1532
minikinc1540
wyec1540
placket1547
pig's eye1553
hen?1555
ware1558
pussy?a1560
jade1560
feme1566
gentlewoman1567
mort1567
pinnacea1568
jug1569
rowen1575
tarleather1575
mumps1576
skirt1578
piga1586
rib?1590
puppy1592
smock1592
maness1594
sloy1596
Madonna1602
moll1604
periwinkle1604
Partlet1607
rib of man1609
womanship?1609
modicum1611
Gypsy1612
petticoata1616
runniona1616
birda1627
lucky1629
she-man1640
her1646
lost rib1647
uptails1671
cow1696
tittup1696
cummer17..
wife1702
she-woman1703
person1704
molly1706
fusby1707
goody1708
riding hood1718
birdie1720
faggot1722
piece of goods1727
woman body1771
she-male1776
biddy1785
bitch1785
covess1789
gin1790
pintail1792
buer1807
femme1814
bibi1816
Judy1819
a bit (also bundle) of muslin1823
wifie1823
craft1829
shickster?1834
heifer1835
mot1837
tit1837
Sitt1838
strap1842
hay-bag1851
bint1855
popsy1855
tart1864
woman's woman1868
to deliver the goods1870
chapess1871
Dona1874
girl1878
ladykind1878
mivvy1881
dudess1883
dudette1883
dudine1883
tid1888
totty1890
tootsy1895
floozy1899
dame1902
jane1906
Tom1906
frail1908
bit of stuff1909
quim1909
babe1911
broad1914
muff1914
manhole1916
number1919
rossie1922
bit1923
man's woman1928
scupper1935
split1935
rye mort1936
totsy1938
leg1939
skinny1941
Richard1950
potato1957
scow1960
wimmin1975
womyn1975
womxn1991
1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 62.
1931 J. Galsworthy Maid in Waiting v. 34 He had seen the girl pass twice or three times—had noticed her specially as a ‘nice bit’.
1953 B. Goolden China Pig xiii. 195 If I want a common little bit for a best girl that's my look-out, too.
g. A small part in a play or film; freq. attrib. and Comb., as bit part, bit player; also transf. orig. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > part or character > [noun] > types of part or character
underpart1679
persona muta1714
travesty1732
soubrette1753
old man1762
small part?1774
breeches-part1779
character part1811
fat1812
chambermaida1828
fool?1835
raisonneur1845
ingénue1848
villain of the piece1854
stock character1864
feeder1866
satirette1870
character role1871
travesty1887
thinking part1890
walk-on1902
cardboard cutout1906
bit1926
good guy1928
feed1929
bad guy1932
goody1934
walkthrough1935
narrator1941
cameo1950
black hat1959
1926 Amer. Speech 1 437/1 Bit, any small part. It may be a thinking part or the character may have a few lines. Occasionally a bit in the hands of a capable actor..is the outstanding hit of the show.
1936 F. Scully Bedside Manna 155 So I got a job as a bit-player in Hollywood.
1937 Kansas City Star 17 Oct. 4 The bass horn player..getting ready to do a bit part.
1940 Manch. Guardian Weekly 14 June 469 He spotted Cagney when Cagney was a ‘bit’ player, and was early in recognising Bette Davis's..talents.
1946 J. B. Priestley Bright Day v. 138 They gave her a test and a couple of bit parts.
1954 M. Allingham No Love Lost 108 Francia had been spotted playing ‘bits’ in Sweden.
h. In various colloq. and slang uses containing a bit of = a small amount or a small specimen of (see quots.). So a bit of blood: a mettlesome horse; a bit of cavalry: a horse; a bit of muslin: see muslin n. 5; similarly a bit of fluff, a bit of goods, a bit of mutton (see fluff n.1 1d, mutton n. 4); to take a bit of doing: see doing n. Phrases; not a bit of it = not a bit at sense 5). Also to do one's bit: to play one's part; to fulfil one's responsibilities or obligations; to make one's contribution to a cause or the like, esp. by serving in the armed forces.
ΚΠ
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 3 Nothing now is to be seen but bred horses; every apprentice must bestride a bit of blood.
1819 T. Moore Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (ed. 3) 11 A showy, but hot and unsound, bit of blood.
1821 ‘W. T. Moncrieff’ Tom & Jerry i. vi, I shall here buy a bit of cavalry—that is a prad.
a1827 W. Hickey Mem. (1960) xx. 329 If you be a lord, it must be a bit of bastard business.
1828 Subaltern's Log Bk. II. 164, I entered the house in great spirits, fancying myself, to make use of a slang phrase, a very good bit of stuff.
1844 Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xxxvi. 421 We rather put the bits of blood upon their mettle.
1847 A. S. Mayhew & H. Mayhew Greatest Plague of Life vii. 86 When the conceited bit of goods came after the situation, she looked so clean, tidy, and respectable.
1853 C. R. Read Austral. Gold Fields 123 A good paddock, in which are a few bits of blood.
1853–4 C. Lever Dodd Family Abroad xxii, ‘I'm sorry’, said he, ‘that the “bit of stiff”’, meaning the bill, ‘wasn't for five thousand francs’.
1854 C. J. Lever Dodd Family Abroad xxii, ‘I'm sorry,’ said he, ‘that the “bit of stiff”,’ meaning the bill, ‘wasn't for five thousand francs.’
1855 Harper's Mag. May 791/1 ‘She is too good for me, or for the world!’ ‘Not a bit of it, Philip.’
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 84 Bit-of-Stuff, overdressed man; a man with full confidence in his appearance and abilities; a young woman, who is also called a bit of muslin.
1882 Papers for People 7 June 102 The convicts almost to a man set such a high value on a ‘bit of leaf’.
1889 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang Bit of blood, a spirited horse that has some blood. Bit of cavalry, a saddle horse. Bit of leaf (prison), a small quantity of tobacco. Bit of mutton (common), a nice woman, generally in a questionable sense... Bit of sticks (sporting), a copse... Bits of stiff (popular), bank notes.
1889 G. B. Shaw in Star 13 Apr. 4/3 The generosity with which ‘the industrial classes’ audience applaud you if they think you have ‘done your bit’ heartily.
1911 R. Kipling in Windsor Mag. Aug. 261/2 ‘He's a raging blight!’ ‘Not a bit of it,’ said Stalky cheerfully.
1915 Punch 12 May 362/1 For these our Army does its bit.
1917 Ladies' Home Jrnl. June 78/2 Every man beyond the military age can and should do his ‘bit’.
1919 J. Galsworthy Saint's Progress iii. ii. §2 These young women are ‘doing their bit’, as you call it; bringing refreshments to all those who are serving their country.
1919 M. A. von Arnim Christopher & Columbus xxx. 394 Those cunning little bits of youngness, the Twinkler sisters.
1919 G. B. Shaw (title) Augustus does his bit.
1932 T. S. Eliot Sweeney Agonistes 18 Yes we did our bit, as you folks say, I'll tell the world we got the Hun on the run.
1957 Listener 24 Oct. 671/1 The B.B.C. has done its bit to restore the balance.
i. (See quot. 1960.) slang (orig. U.S.).
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1958 G. Lea Somewhere there's Music 69 What's the Mister Musician bit?
1959 F. Astaire Steps in Time (1960) vi. 45 We were in Detroit—stranded—and that is where Mother did the pawning-of-the-jewels bit.
1960 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 39/2 Bit, any expected or well-defined action, plan, series of events, or attitudes, usu., but not necessarily, of short duration; one's attitude, personality, or way of life; fig., the role which one assumes in a specif. situation or in life. Orig. bop and cool use.
1961 ‘I. T. Ross’ Requiem for Schoolgirl xi. 179 ‘The Gestapo bit,’ she told her friends bitterly.
1961 ‘I. T. Ross’ Requiem for Schoolgirl xi. 182 ‘I don't dig the bit,’ Monty muttered.
1968 Scottish Daily Mail 3 Jan. 6 They're crazy about this psychological bit.
1969 Gandalf's Garden iv. 9/1, I was originally on the jazz scene and in a terrible state. You know, doing the whole bit, being on the phoney junkie trip which nearly every jazz musician was on.
5. colloq. A very small measure or degree, a jot, a whit; used adv. in the expressions a bit: a little, somewhat, rather; not a bit: not in the least, not at all; every bit: entirely, quite; a bit much: a little too much (to have to endure); something excessive or very annoying.
ΚΠ
1675 C. Cotton Poet. Wks. (1765) I had not wrong'd the Gods a bit.
1719 in T. Gordon Cordial Low-spirits (1750) 174 An Aspect every Bit as terrible.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. ix. vi. 353 He loves her not a bit the worse. View more context for this quotation
1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss II. v. ii. 231 You should ha' sent me to school a bit more.
1861 G. Trevelyan Horace at Athens vi. 54 He..can sing a lively song, and write a bit.
1866 Trollope Belton Estate I. iii. 58 The old tower out there. It isn't changed a bit!
1885 Illustr. London News 14 Feb. 184/1, I am a little bit afraid of him.
1939 ‘N. Blake’ Smiler with Knife iv. 70 This is a bit much, isn't it, darling?.. I don't approve of baby-snatching.
1954 I. Murdoch Under Net xviii. 248 This is a bit much!.. I was asleep.
6.
a. colloq. A short while; a short space of time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > a short or moderate space of time
weekeOE
littleOE
roomOE
stoundOE
startc1300
houra1350
furlong wayc1384
piecea1400
weea1400
speed whilec1400
hanlawhilea1500
snack1513
spirt?1550
snatch1563
fit1583
spurta1591
shortness1598
span1599
bit1653
thinking time1668
thinking-while1668
onwardling1674
way-bit1674
whilie1819
fillip1880
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler 211 There we sit For a bit Till we fish intangle. View more context for this quotation
1794 W. Godwin Caleb Williams I. ix. 209, I think we may as well stop here a bit.
1800 M. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent 136 It's no time for punch yet a bit.
1884 P'cess Alice Mem. 41, I cannot tell you what pleasure it has been to have that dear child a little bit.
b. Sc. The exact point or ‘nick’ of time.
ΚΠ
1786 R. Burns Poems 58 When the best wark-lume i'the house..Is instant made no worth a louse, Just at the bit.
c. A prison sentence. slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of
time1790
lagging1819
stretch1821
model1845
birdlime1857
penal1864
prison sentence1867
rap1870
bit1871
spot1895
hard time1896
sleep1911
jolt1912
bird1924
fall1926
beef1928
trick1933
porridge1950
custodial sentence1951
1871 Session Paper: Central Criminal Court 10 July 156 Bill, how do they know of your bit in Dover?
1884 A. Griffiths Chron. Newgate II. ix. 407 All three..passed on..to Leicester, where they did their ‘bit’.
1917 New Republic 13 Jan. 294/1 Ferrati, whose ‘bit’ was three to seven years.
1951 J. H. Smyth I, Mobster xii. 133 The only question was how much of a bit Lucky would get.
7. Sc. A small piece of ground, a ‘spot’.
ΚΠ
1814 Scott Waverley III. xvi. 237 It's a bieldy enough bit . View more context for this quotation
1816 Scott Antiquary II. x. 258 What gars ye stop [digging] now?—ye're just at the very bit for a chance.
1879 Jamieson's Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (new ed.) (at cited word), He canna stan' in a bit [i.e. still, in one spot].
8. In reference to money:
a. Thieves' slang. Money. Cf. bite n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > [noun] > ready money or cash
ready money1429
argent-contentc1540
bitec1555
present money1572
chink1580
cash1600
bit1607
real money1675
fob?c1680
Darby1682
ready1684
blunt1819
makeready1830
hardshells1840
ante1843
spot cash1855
call money1856
necessary1897
1607 T. Dekker & G. Wilkins Iests to make you Merie sig. F4, If they..once know where the bung and the bit is, as much as to say, your purse and the money.
1608 T. Dekker Belman of London in Non-dramatic Wks. (1885) III. 122 To learne..what store of Bit he hath in his Bag.
1832 Mirror 17 Nov. 333 Coiners..vulgus, Bit-makers.
b. Applied in the Southern states of N. America, in the West Indies, etc., to small silver coins forming fractions of the Spanish dollar, or (when these are obsolete) to their value in current money. Now usu. applied in the U.S. to a unit of value equivalent to an eighth of a dollar; used only in even multiples, as four bits, six bits.In the eighteenth century the bit was generally the old Mexican real = 1/ 8 of a dollar or about 61/ 2d. sterling; later values assigned are a half pistareen or 1/ 10 of a dollar, 1/ 16 of a dollar, and (in some colonies) the value of 11/ 2d. sterling.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > Caribbean coins
hog moneyc1625
bit1683
macaroni1808
quattie1859
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > North American coins > U.S.
quarter dollar1615
bit1683
quarter1776
cent1782
dollar1785
dime1786
eagle1786
half-dollar1786
half-eagle1786
sharpshin1804
picayune1805
caser1825
pic1839
double eagle1849
slug1851
hog1859
pine tree money1859
martin bita1884
meter1940
1683 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) I. 85 Their Abuse to ye Governmt, in Quining of Spanish Bitts and Boston money.
1730 J. Southall Treat. Buggs 8, I would give him..a Bit, (a Piece of Spanish Money, there current at Seven-pence Half-Penny).
1776 J. Cook Jrnl. 30 July (1967) III. i. 10 The Meat is..sold for half a bit (3 pence sterling a pound).
c1782 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. in Wks. (1859) I. App. 165 The tenth [of the dollar] will be precisely the Spanish bit, or half-pistareen.
1836 E. Howard Rattlin, the Reefer III. v. 59, I..gave my sable nurses a handful of bits each.
1873 T. A. Barry & B. A. Patten Men & Mem. San Francisco xiii. 132 Two bits for a cup of coffee; two bits for a piece of pie; or if hunger and economy were to be considered, two doughnuts for a quarter of a dollar.
1883 Cent. Mag. 27 29 With six bits in his pocket and an axe upon his shoulder.
1909 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Bit..now, usually, the sum of 12½ cents (generally in the phrases two bits, four bits, six bits).
1938 D. Runyon Furthermore xiv. 281 She has..a smile like six bits.
1939 J. Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath xvi. 224 If you wanta pull in here an' camp it'll cost you four bits.
c. colloq. A small coin or ‘piece’ of money, the value being generally named, as seven-shilling bit (an obs. English gold coin), sixpenny bit, fourpenny bit, and threepenny bit. In slang = fourpence.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > [noun] > small coins collectively > a small coin
orkyn1542
liarda1549
solda1549
scute1594
orkey1648
sock1688
styca1705
dump1821
scuddick1823
bit1829
posh1830
rag1866
tosser1935
1829 F. Marryat Naval Officer I. ii. 68 A seven shilling bit would be thought handsome.
9. In Scottish use bit is used for bit of (‘a bit bread’; cf. German ein Stück Brod), and for bit of a (‘a bit bairn’); in the latter use it approaches the nature of an adj. = little, tiny, small.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective]
smallOE
littleOE
litec1275
a little wightc1275
petitc1390
weea1525
pusill1599
slender1610
lile1633
scantling1652
piccaninny1707
pinkie1718
insignificant1748
baby1750
leetle1755
tiddy1781
bit1786
inconsiderable1796
itty1798
peerie1808
tittya1825
titty-tottya1825
ickle1846
tiddly1868
peewee1877
lil1881
shirttail1881
inextensive1890
puny1898
liddle1906
pint-sized1921
pint-size1925
peedie1929
tenas1935
itsy-bitsy1938
itty-bitty1940
titchy1950
scrappy1985
1786 R. Burns Cotter's Sat. Night iii, in Poems & Songs (1968) I. 146 His wee-bit ingle, blinkan bonilie.
1787 J. Beattie Scoticisms 13 A bit bread, a bit paper.—A bit of bread, a bit of paper.
1816 Scott Antiquary I. vii. 155, I heard ye were here, frae the bit callant ye sent.
1883 J. Hawthorne in Harper's Mag. Nov. 926/1, I can take a bit draw of the pipe.
Compounds
bit-wise adv. little by little, a bit at a time, piecemeal.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > actor > [noun] > actor playing specific type of part
ruffy1502
chorus1561
prologuer1570
prologue1579
turquet1625
woman actor1633
underpart1679
epilogist1716
prologist1716
epiloguizer1748
old man1762
prologuizer1762
buffo1764
extrac1777
jeune premier1817
primo buffo1826
character actor1841
utility man1849
deuteragonist1855
character comedian1857
bit playera1859
utility actor1860
serio-comic1866
juvenile lead1870
serio-comique1870
heavy1880
utility1885
thinker1886
onnagata1889
serio1889
juvenile1890
tritagonist1890
oyama1925
juve1935
a1859 J. Austin Lect. Jurispr. (1879) II. 1064 Codified law does not adapt itself to the successive wants of successive ages so easily as law made bit-wise.
Draft additions June 2015
colloq. (chiefly Brit.). bit on the side.
a. Money earned outside one's normal job.
ΚΠ
1906 Times 2 July 4/1 The casual repair shark..has to make a profit for himself, a bit on the side for chauffeurs' commissions.
1948 Scotsman 30 Jan. 4/3 An engine driver could earn quite a bit on the side if he entered into private contracts with parties living along his route.
1993 Evening Standard (Nexis) 20 Apr. 10 A jobbing housewife who's trying to earn a bit on the side.
2011 J. Marriott Beyond Tower x. 292 Villains unloading their ill-gotten gains, petty traders peddling varieties of cheap merchandise, and even those in regular employment making a bit on the side.
b. A sexual relationship with a person other than one’s spouse or partner; the person with whom one is unfaithful to one's spouse or partner.
ΚΠ
1926 A. H. Frederick You've never lived in Hollywood 20 Now B.F. was well satisfied His wife should be thus occupied With the young man from France, For it gave him a chance To play round a bit on the side — Yes, more than a bit on the side.]
1973 R. Allen Sorts iii. 15 Probably happily married but wanting a bit on the side.
1987 D. Lucie Fashion i. iv. 20 So, basically, I'm your little bit on the side.
2004 A. N. Wilson My Name is Legion i. xxix. 210 She must resist the fantasy..that she, Rachel, was nothing more than his little bit on the side.
Draft additions September 2004
fig. colloq. (orig. and chiefly Brit.). in bits: in a state of distressing confusion or (severe) emotional stress or upset. Cf. to pieces at piece n. Phrases 2a, shattered adj. c.
ΚΠ
1937 L. MacNiece Out of Picture ii. ii. 122 You do not really belong here any more. Your world is in bits already.
1961 J. Chiari tr. J.-L. Barrault Theatre of Jean-Louis Barrault vi. 186 His nerves were at breaking point and my heart was in bits.
1988 Guardian (Nexis) 5 May Sure, I'm in bits, I went in on myself with the depression.
2001 N. Griffiths Sheepshagger 191 ‘All upset about Roger was he?’ ‘In bits, yeh.’
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2016).
† bitn.3
Obs.
A leathern bottle or flask; the uterus or womb; a fire-bucket.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > womb
wombeOE
innethc888
bosom971
bitc1000
motherc1300
cloisterc1386
mawc1390
flanka1398
marisa1400
matricea1400
clausterc1400
mater?a1425
matrix?a1425
wamec1425
bellyc1440
oven?1510
bermother1527
child's bed1535
bairn-bedc1550
uterus1615
kelder1647
ventera1656
childbed1863
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. I. 336 Uter, byt.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 17 Ne hig ne doð niwe wín on ealde bytta..gyf hi doð, þa bytta beoð tobrokene.
a1200 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) 552 Uter, butte.
c1230 Hali Meid. 35 Inwið þi wombe swelin þe bitte [v.r. butte].
c1467 Eng. Gilds (1870) 382 That the bitters be redy with hur horses and bittes to brynge water..when eny parelle of fuyre ys.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online September 2016).
bitn.4
/bɪt/, U.S. /bɪt/ A unit of information derived from a choice between two equally probable alternatives or ‘events’; such a unit stored electronically in a computer.
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society > computing and information technology > data > [noun] > unit of
bit1948
megabit1957
byte1964
MB1965
megabyte1965
packet1966
nibble1967
Mbit1968
Mbyte1972
MSB1972
meg1983
society > communication > information > [noun] > information as processed by machines > units of
binary digit1796
data1946
bit1948
ASCII1963
byte1964
1948 C. E. Shannon in Bell Syst. Techn. Jrnl. July 380 The choice of a logarithmic base corresponds to the choice of a unit for measuring information. If the base 2 is used the resulting units may be called binary digits, or more briefly bits, a word suggested by J. W. Tukey.
1952 Sci. Amer. Sept. 135/1 It is almost certain that ‘bit’ will become common parlance in the field of information, as ‘horsepower’ is in the motor field.
1957 New Scientist 9 May 14/1 One ‘bit’ is the smallest amount of data which can exist, and corresponds to the answer to a yes-or-no question. On this basis, a decimal numeral can be described with four bits and an alphabetic letter with five... Existing electronic computers can store, in their normal memories, up to about one million bits.
Compounds
Special Comb.
bit map n. a representation, e.g. of a computer memory, in which each item is represented by one bit; spec. a graphic display in which characters are formed by assigning to each individual pixel a bit value.
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society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > [noun] > a graphic representation
iconography1628
drawing1669
trace1744
tracing1811
bit map1973
1973 Computing Surveys June 112/1 In a bit map scheme, a Boolean form of the matrix M is the basic indexing reference. Whenever a non-zero entry occurs in the sparse matrix, a 1 bit is placed in the bit-map.
1981 High Technol. Sept. 20 All have headend electronics that takes the input character stream and makes a ‘bitmap’, a point-by-point representation of a page.
1983 Your Computer (Austral.) June 94/2, I have included a program..which when run will provide a bitmap of the specified disk.
bit-mapped adj. employing or involving a bit map.
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society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > [adjective] > employing or involving a bit map
bit-mapped1978
1978 Proc. Micro-Delcon (Delaware Bay Microcomputer Conf.) 21/2 The system features a bit-mapped display.
1983 Electronics 1 Dec. 139 High-performance bitmapped graphics.
bit mapping n. the use of a bit map.
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society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > [noun] > a graphic representation > use of a bit map
bit mapping1979
1979 Computer Oct. 25/1 The RTBM—real-time bit mapping—scan for the same parameters shows the detailed effect that the failure mechanism has on each memory cell.
1984 J. Hilton Choosing & using your Home Computer 265/1 ‘Bit-mapping’..enables the programmer to control each individual pixel within a given area of the screen.
Draft additions December 2014
Bitcoin n. (a proprietary name for) a digital payment system introduced in 2009, having its own unit of account; the unit of account of this system.'Satoshi Nakamoto', to whom the introduction of the system is attributed (see quot. 2008), is presumed to be a pseudonym for one or more unknown persons.
ΚΠ
2008 ‘S. Nakamoto’ Bitcoin P2P E-cash Paper in gmane.comp.encryption.general (Electronic mailing list) 1 Nov. I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party... Bitcoin: a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.
2012 Foreign Policy Dec. 107/3 Bitcoin, a digital currency that is either the future of global commerce or a high tech form of money laundering—depending on whom you ask.
2014 Sunday Independent (Ireland) (Nexis) 8 June (Business section) 7 Bitcoin is not really a currency, it's a commodity. It has no value other than what people are willing to pay for it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2016).
bitv.
/bɪt/, U.S. /bɪt/ 1. trans. To furnish with a bit, to put the bit into the mouth of (a horse); to accustom to the bit.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > break a horse > to the bit or to the halter
moutha1533
bit1583
halter-break1837
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [verb (transitive)] > insert or remove bit
snaffle1555
unbit1566
bit1583
gag1591
barnacle1861
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie clvi. 962 Wee be as coltes that were neuer sadled nor bitted.
1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xii. lxxiii. 300 Till when the Horse was neuer back't nor bitted.
1814 Scott Waverley II. xvi. 241 Their horses were not trained to the regular pace..nor did they seem bitted (as it is technically expressed) for the use of the sword. View more context for this quotation
2. fig. To curb, restrain.
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society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restrain [verb (transitive)] > hold in check
bridleOE
tempera1050
chastec1230
to hold inc1300
straina1340
stintc1366
attemperc1380
restraina1387
rulea1391
ward1390
coarctc1400
obtemper?a1425
to hold or keep (a person) shortc1425
compesce1430
stent1488
coactc1520
repressa1525
compress1526
control1548
snaffle1555
temperatea1568
brank1574
halter1577
curb1588
shortena1599
to bear (a rein) upon1603
check1629
coerceate1657
bit1825
throttle1862
hold1901
1825 S. T. Coleridge Aids Refl. 108 It is not Women and Frenchmen only that would rather have their tongues bitten than bitted.
1859 J. Bright Speeches 12 At the Revolution the Monarchy of England was bridled and bitted.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online March 2016).
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n.1c893n.2c1000n.3c1000n.41948v.1583