bit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɪt/^[1]

bit¹ small piece

Etymology

The small piece is inherited from Middle English bite (“morsel”), inherited from Old English bita (“piece bitten off, morsel”),^[2][3][4] from bītan (“to bite”),^[2][5] from Proto-Germanic *bitōn,^[2][6] from Proto-Indo-European *bheid- (“to split”).^[6][3] Its relatives include Old Norse biti and German Bissen (“a bite, morsel”),^[2][7] and in English bite and bitt.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A piece bitten off, a morsel: Old English bita, before 1050, in the West Saxon Gospels.^[2] Middle English bite is found probably about 1200, in the Ormulum.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From a mouthful the word spread to any small piece or fragment, in the 16th century^[5] or about 1600,^[6] and to a short space of time in the 1650s.^[6] The bit as a small coin, as in two bits, began in the American South and the West Indies, where wedges were cut from Spanish silver dollars, and came to mean an eighth of a dollar.^[6] A bit part in the theatre is from 1909.^[6] An entertainer's routine and, informally, a kind of behaviour or situation (the whole family bit) are later senses.^[8]

Timeline

• before 1050 – Old English bita, a morsel.^[2]
• c. 1200 – Middle English bite (Ormulum).^[2]
• 16th century – a small piece of anything.^[5]
• 1650s – a short time.^[6]
• 1909 – bit part.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small piece, portion or amount.
2. A short time; a moment.
3. A small part in a play or film; a bit part.
4. A regular routine by an entertainer; an act.
5. (informal) A particular kind of behaviour or situation.
6. (US) An eighth of a dollar, used in even multiples: two bits.

bit² mouthpiece, drill

Etymology

The mouthpiece and the drill are inherited from Middle English bitt,^[9][4] inherited from Old English bite (“a bite, biting”),^[2][3][5] from Proto-Germanic *bitiz,^[2][5] from the base of bītan (“to bite”).^[5][10] Its relatives include German Biss (“a bite”) and Old Norse bit.^[2][7] Hoad finds the source of the sense “mouthpiece” unclear, and compares Old English bitol (“bridle”) and German Gebiss.^[5] Barnhart notes that Old English bite and bita merged in Middle English, and can be told apart only by the history of their senses.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bite, the act of biting: Old English bite, about 725, in Beowulf.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart dates the sense “cutting edge” to probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin,^[2] and Hoad to the 14th century.^[5] The part of a bridle that goes in a horse's mouth is a bit from the mid-14th century^[6] or about 1386,^[2] and the boring tool, the “biting” part of a drill, from the 1590s.^[6][2] The verb, “to put a bit in a horse's mouth”, and figuratively “to curb”, is from 1583.^[9][7]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English bite, a bite (Beowulf).^[2]
• before 1300 – a cutting edge.^[2]
• mid-14th century – the mouthpiece of a bridle.^[6]
• 1583 – verb, to put a bit on a horse.^[9]
• 1590s – a boring tool.^[6][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The metal mouthpiece of a bridle, used to control a horse.
2. A tool for drilling or boring, fitted in a brace or drill.
3. The cutting edge of a tool such as an axe.
4. The part of a key that enters the lock and works the bolt.
5. Something that controls or restrains.

Verb

1. To put a bit in the mouth of a horse.
2. To check or curb as if with a bit.

bit³ binary digit

Etymology

The unit of information is a blend of binary and digit,^[3][11][7] coined in 1948 by the American computer pioneer John W. Tukey,^[2][6] probably because it was the same as bit “small piece”.^[6][7] Compare byte.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A binary digit, a unit of information in computing: 1948.^[2][6][9]

Timeline

• 1948 – coined by John W. Tukey.^[2][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (computing) Either of the binary digits 0 and 1.
2. A unit of information equal to a choice between two equally likely alternatives.
3. A unit of information storage capacity, as of memory.

Related words

• bite
• bitt
• bitter
• byte
• binary
• digit

Usage notes

Bit is also the past tense of bite.^[8][6]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press