mite

English

Wikipedia

A rust mite

Etymology

Middle English mite, from Old English mīte (“mite, tiny insect”), from Proto-Germanic *mītǭ (“biting insect"; literally, "cutter”), from Proto-Germanic *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small”). Akin to Old High German mīza (“mite”), Middle Dutch mīte (“moth, mite”), Danish mide (“mite”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: mīt, IPA: /maɪt/, X-SAMPA: /maIt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  Homophones: might

• Rhymes: -aɪt

Noun

mite (plural mites)

1. 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. 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.
3. A small weight; one twentieth of a grain.
4. Anything very small; a minute object; a very little quantity or particle. Sometimes used adverbially.
   • 1959 Frances Cavanah, Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance, Project Gutenberg, [1]:

     "Those trousers are a mite too big, but you'll soon grow into them."

Synonyms

• (small amount): see also Wikisaurus:modicum.

Translations

an arachnid

• Catalan: àcar (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蟎 (cmn), 螨 (cmn) (mǎn)

• Czech: roztoč (cs) m
• Dutch: mijt (nl)
• Finnish: punkki (fi)
• French: acarien (fr)
• Galician: ácaro (gl) m
• German: Milbe (de) f
• Hungarian: atka (hu), kukac (hu)
• Italian: acaro (it) m
• Japanese: だに (ja) (dani), 壁蝨 (ja)
• Jèrriais: mite f
• Latgalian: ērce f

• Latin: acarus (la) m
• Latvian: ērce (lv) f
• Lithuanian: erkė (lt) f
• Navajo: yaaʼ
• Norwegian: mit (no) m, midd (no) m
• Persian: هیره (fa) (hire)
• Polish: roztocze n, roztocz m
• Portuguese: ácaro (pt) m
• Romanian: acarian (ro) m
• Russian: клещ (ru) (klešč) m
• Serbo-Croatian: grȉnja (sh) f
• Spanish: ácaro (es) m

Anagrams

• emit
• item
• time

---

French

Wikipedia ^fr

Etymology

Middle French, from Old French mitte (“kind of insect which gnaws on cloth or cheese”), from Middle Dutch mīte (“moth, mite”), ult. from Proto-Germanic *mītǭ (“biting insect"; literally, "cutter”). Akin to Old English mīte (“mite, tiny insect”), Old High German mīza (“mite”), Danish mide (“mite”).

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA: /mit/, X-SAMPA: /mit/

Noun

mite f (plural mites)

1. mite (arachnid)
2. moth, particularly one whose larva destroys something stored by humans

See also

• chenille f
• papillon m
• teigne f (clothes moth)
• pyrale f (meal moth)

Derived terms

• antimite

Verb

mite

1. first-person singular present indicative of miter
2. third-person singular present indicative of miter
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of miter
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of miter
5. second-person singular imperative of miter

Anagrams

• émit, émît

---

Italian

Adjective

mite m, f (masculine and feminine plural miti)

1. mild
2. moderate (price)
3. balmy (climate)
4. meek (animal)

Anagrams

• temi

---

Jèrriais

Etymology

From Old French mitte (“kind of insect which gnaws on cloth or cheese”), of Germanic origin.

Noun

mite f (plural mites)

1. mite

---

Latin

Adjective

mīte

1. nominative neuter singular of mītis
2. accusative neuter singular of mītis
3. vocative neuter singular of mītis

---

Volapük

Noun

mite

1. dative singular form of mit