bit

bit

See also: b'it, Bit, B.I.T., -bit-, bít, bịt, and bɨt

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Bitara.

Symbol

bit

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Berinomo.

See also

  • Wiktionary’s coverage of Berinomo terms

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: bĭt, IPA(key): /ˈbɪt/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈbɪ̝t/
  • (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈbɘt/
  • Rhymes: -ɪt
  • Hyphenation: bit

Etymology 1

From Middle English bitte, bite, from Old English bita (bit; fragment; morsel) and bite (a bite; cut), from Proto-Germanic *bitô and *bitiz; both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (to split). More at bite.

Noun

bit (plural bits)

  1. A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and connected to the reins to direct the animal.
    Synonyms: kimberwicke, pelham, snaffle
    A horse hates having a bit put in its mouth.
  2. A rotary cutting tool, fitted to a drill, brace, or router, used to bore or drill holes or to remove material from the profile of the workpiece.
    Hyponyms: drill bit, drillbit
    router bit;   chamfering bit
  3. Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.
    Synonyms: coin, piece
    1. (dated, British) A coin of a specified value.
      a threepenny bit
    2. (historical, US and Canada) A unit of currency worth one eighth of a dollar, originally of a Spanish dollar but later also US or Canadian; also, a coin with this value, in particular the silver Spanish real.
      A quarter is two bits.
    3. (obsolete, US and Canada) A coin of a value similar but not equal to this, in particular the ‘short bit’, i.e. the ten-cent piece or dime.
      • 1941, Emily Carr, chapter 10, in Klee Wyck[4]:
        The smallest coin we had in Canada in early days was a dime, worth ten cents. The Indians called this coin “a Bit”. Our next coin, double in buying power and in size, was a twenty-five cent piece and this the Indians called “Two Bits”.
    4. (historical) A unit of currency and coin of the British West Indies worth six black dogs, originally equal to one-eighth of a Spanish dollar but later increasingly debased to one tenth, one eleventh, one twelfth, etc.
      • 1789, Olaudah Equiano, chapter 6, in The Interesting Narrative, volume I:
        I trusted to the Lord to be with me; and at one of our trips to St. Eustatia, a Dutch island, I bought a glass tumbler with my half bit, and when I came to Montserrat I sold it for a bit, or sixpence.
    5. (historical) A unit of currency of the Dutch West Indies in the early 20th century, worth one fifth of a cent.
    6. Synonym of microbitcoin.
  4. A small amount of something.
    Synonyms: (of food) morsel, piece, scrap; see also Thesaurus:modicum
    There were bits of paper all over the floor.
    Does your leg still hurt? —Just a bit now.
    I've done my bit; I expect you to do yours.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, “The Beanspiller”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 186:
      ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’
    • 2026 March 18, Chris Conway talks to Andy Comfort, “The RAIL Interview”, in RAIL, page 32:
      "I suppose my first objective was to try and help a department, which was very much civil servants who are rotating around on a regular basis, to try and understand public transport a wee bit better and try and understand what was required to run a bus and rail network," muses Conway.
  5. (informal) Specifically, a small amount of time.
    Synonyms: instant, jiffy, tick; see also Thesaurus:moment
    Antonyms: age, (US) while; see also Thesaurus:eon
    I'll be there in a bit; I need to take care of something first.
    He was here just a bit ago, but it looks like he's stepped out.
  6. (informal) A small fraction above a whole number.
    The movie lasted for two and a bit hours.
  7. (in the plural, informal, sports) Fractions of a second.
    Synonym: split-second
    The 400 metres race was won in 47 seconds and bits.
  8. A portion of something.
    Synonyms: portion, share, segment; see also Thesaurus:piece
    I'd like a big bit of cake, please.
    • 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:
      Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. [] A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.
  9. Somewhat; something, but not very great; also used like jot and whit to express the smallest degree. See also a bit.
    Am I bored? Not a bit of it!
    • 1835, Theodore Hook, Gilbert Gurney:
      My young companion was a bit of a poet.
  10. A replaceable tip for a hand tool or power tool, comprising the portion that drives a fastener.
    Near-synonym: driver
    driver bit
  11. (slang) A prison sentence, especially a short one.
    Synonym: bid
    • 1904, The Anamosa prison press, volume 7, Iowa. Colony of Detention at Anamosa:
      Had it not been for the influence of Mrs. Booth and Hope Hall I should still be grafting or doing a bit in some stir
    • 1916, Thomas Mott Osborne. Warden, Sing Sing Prison, N. Y., “Prison Reform”, in The Journal of sociologic medicine, volume 17, page 407:
      Before doing that I am going to tell you what was the result of my own incarceration, because I presume it may not be a secret to you, that I have done a "bit" myself, not the "bit" which the prosecuting attorney was so anxious to have me do.
    • 1994, Odie Hawkins, Lost Angeles, page 158:
      Chino didn't make me think of Dachau or that notorious joint in Angola, Louisiana, where a brother who had done a bit there told me how they used to cut the grass on the front lawn with their fingernails.
    • 2001, Andrew H. Vachss, Pain management:
      Not counting the days—that's okay for a county-time slap, but it'll make you crazy if you've got years to go on a felony bit.
  12. An excerpt of material making up part of a show, comedy routine, etc.
    His bit about video games was not nearly as entertaining as the other segments of his show.
  13. (slang) A gag or put-on; a humorous conceit, especially when insistently presented as true.
    Synonyms: shaggy dog story, wind up; see also Thesaurus:joke
    Are you serious, or is this a bit?
    • 2024 March 1, F1NN5TER, 3:36 from the start, in Coming Out[5], archived from the original on 14 May 2024:
      Also, I'm bi. I like dudes! ...That's weird to say. Everything I say feels like a bit now, god dammit.
  14. Ellipsis of bit part.
    She acted her bit in the opening scene.
  15. The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers.[1]
  16. The cutting iron of a plane.[2]
  17. The bevelled front edge of an axehead along which the cutting edge runs.
  18. (BDSM) A gag of a style similar to a bridle.
  19. (MLE) A gun.
    Synonyms: (MLE) skeng, toy, wap; see also Thesaurus:firearm
    • 2013 December 23, Stephen Reynolds, 46:53 from the start, in Stephen Reynolds, director, Vendetta (film), spoken by Jimmy Vickers (Danny Dyer):
      Jimmy: I need to get my hands on some bits. If you’re still in the business.
      Ronnie (played by Nick Nevern): Oi!
      Trojan (played by Jean-Paul Van Cauwelaert): Ronnie.
      []
      Trojan: Now that is a SIG Sauer P226.
Derived terms
  • bits (genitals)
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

bit (third-person singular simple present bits, present participle bitting, simple past and past participle bitted)

  1. (transitive) To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of (a horse).

References

  1. ^ Edward H[enry] Knight (1877), “Bit”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. [], volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton [], →OCLC.
  2. ^ Edward H[enry] Knight (1877), “Bit”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. [], volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton [], →OCLC.

Etymology 2

See bite. Replaced a former strong past tense, seen in Middle English bot and Old English bāt.

Verb

bit

  1. simple past of bite
    Your dog bit me!
  2. (informal in US, archaic in UK) past participle of bite, bitten
    I've been bit by your dog!

Adjective

bit (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly in combination) Having been bitten.
    Even though he's bit, of course the zombies would still chase him.
    • 1984 July, Field & Stream, volume 89, number 3, page 24:
      Fortunately, someone who gets skeeter-bit this much may develop an immunity to the skeeter's saliva
    • 1992, Robert Lewis Taylor, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters[6]:
      Only the year before, the conjure man had brought in the Jackson County madstone, from way over in Illinois, for a white peddler that had been dog-bit, and the man went ahead and died just the same
    • 1998, Adele Griffin, Rainy Season[7], page 121:
      He will not — he'll tell you not to be loco, climbing up trees late at night when you'll get bug-bit to death plus you can't see anything
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Coined by John Tukey in 1946 as an abbreviation of binary digit, probably influenced by connotations of “small portion”.[1][2] First used in print 1948 by Claude Shannon.[3] Compare byte and nybble, with similar food associations.

Noun

bit (plural bits)

  1. (mathematics, computing) A binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0.
  2. (computing) The smallest unit of storage in a digital computer, consisting of a binary digit.
    Synonym: b
  3. (information theory, cryptography) Any datum that may take on one of exactly two values.
    status bits on IRC
    permission bits in a file system
  4. (information theory) A unit of measure for information entropy.
    • 2011 May 17, Lisa Grossman, “Entropy Is Universal Rule of Language”, in Wired Science[8], retrieved 26 September 2012:
      The researchers found that the original texts spanned a variety of entropy values in different languages, reflecting differences in grammar and structure.
      But strangely, the difference in entropy between the original, ordered text and the randomly scrambled text was constant across languages. This difference is a way to measure the amount of information encoded in word order, Montemurro says. The amount of information lost when they scrambled the text was about 3.5 bits per word.
  5. A microbitcoin, or a millionth of a bitcoin (0.000001 BTC).
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See also

References

  1. ^ “Six Receive Honorary Degrees at Princeton Commencement”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)[1], (Can we date this quote?), archived from the original on 9 February 2002
  2. ^ (Please provide the book title or journal name)[2], 23 March 2007 (last accessed), archived from the original on 3 March 2007
  3. ^ Claude Shannon (July 1948), “A Mathematical Theory of Communication”, in The Bell System Technical Journal, →DOI

Anagrams

Azerbaijani

Other scripts
Cyrillic бит
Arabic بیت

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bït (louse).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbit/, [ˈbit̪ʰ]
  • Audio (Baku):(file)

Noun

bit (definite accusative biti, plural bitlər)

  1. louse

Declension

Declension of bit
singular plural
nominative bitbitlər
definite accusative bitibitləri
dative bitəbitlərə
locative bitdəbitlərdə
ablative bitdənbitlərdən
definite genitive bitinbitlərin
Possessive forms of bit
nominative
singular plural
mənim (my) bitim bitlərim
sənin (your) bitin bitlərin
onun (his/her/its) biti bitləri
bizim (our) bitimiz bitlərimiz
sizin (your) bitiniz bitləriniz
onların (their) biti or bitləri bitləri
accusative
singular plural
mənim (my) bitimi bitlərimi
sənin (your) bitini bitlərini
onun (his/her/its) bitini bitlərini
bizim (our) bitimizi bitlərimizi
sizin (your) bitinizi bitlərinizi
onların (their) bitini or bitlərini bitlərini
dative
singular plural
mənim (my) bitimə bitlərimə
sənin (your) bitinə bitlərinə
onun (his/her/its) bitinə bitlərinə
bizim (our) bitimizə bitlərimizə
sizin (your) bitinizə bitlərinizə
onların (their) bitinə or bitlərinə bitlərinə
locative
singular plural
mənim (my) bitimdə bitlərimdə
sənin (your) bitində bitlərində
onun (his/her/its) bitində bitlərində
bizim (our) bitimizdə bitlərimizdə
sizin (your) bitinizdə bitlərinizdə
onların (their) bitində or bitlərində bitlərində
ablative
singular plural
mənim (my) bitimdən bitlərimdən
sənin (your) bitindən bitlərindən
onun (his/her/its) bitindən bitlərindən
bizim (our) bitimizdən bitlərimizdən
sizin (your) bitinizdən bitlərinizdən
onların (their) bitindən or bitlərindən bitlərindən
genitive
singular plural
mənim (my) bitimin bitlərimin
sənin (your) bitinin bitlərinin
onun (his/her/its) bitinin bitlərinin
bizim (our) bitimizin bitlərimizin
sizin (your) bitinizin bitlərinizin
onların (their) bitinin or bitlərinin bitlərinin

Catalan

Pronunciation

Noun

bit m (plural bits)

  1. (computing) bit

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbɪt]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪt
  • Homophone: byt

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English bit, from binary digit.

Noun

bit m inan

  1. (computing) bit
Declension
Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

bit

  1. masculine singular passive participle of bít

Further reading

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɪt/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: bit
  • Rhymes: -ɪt

Etymology 1

Ablaut of bijten.

Noun

bit n (plural bitten, diminutive bitje n)

  1. bit (for a working animal)
  2. bit (rotary cutting tool)
  3. mouthguard

Etymology 2

From English bit.

Noun

bit m (plural bits, diminutive bitje n)

  1. bit (binary digit)
  2. bit (unit of storage)
  3. bit (datum with two possible values)

French

Etymology

From English.

Pronunciation

Noun

bit m (plural bits)

  1. (computing) bit

Derived terms

Further reading

Hungarian

Etymology

From English bit.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbit]
  • Hyphenation: bit
  • Rhymes: -it

Noun

bit (plural bitek)

  1. (computing) bit (binary digit)

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
singular plural
nominative bit bitek
accusative bitet biteket
dative bitnek biteknek
instrumental bittel bitekkel
causal-final bitért bitekért
translative bitté bitekké
terminative bitig bitekig
essive-formal bitként bitekként
essive-modal
inessive bitben bitekben
superessive biten biteken
adessive bitnél biteknél
illative bitbe bitekbe
sublative bitre bitekre
allative bithez bitekhez
elative bitből bitekből
delative bitről bitekről
ablative bittől bitektől
non-attributive
possessive – singular
bité biteké
non-attributive
possessive – plural
bitéi bitekéi
Possessive forms of bit
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. bitem bitjeim
2nd person sing. bited bitjeid
3rd person sing. bitje bitjei
1st person plural bitünk bitjeink
2nd person plural bitetek bitjeitek
3rd person plural bitjük bitjeik

Derived terms

Compound words

References

  1. ^ István Tótfalusi (2005), Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára [A Storehouse of Foreign Words: An Explanatory and Etymological Dictionary of Foreign Words], Budapest: Tinta, →ISBN

Further reading

  • bit in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2026).

Indonesian

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English bit (binary digit).

Noun

bit (plural bit-bit)

  1. (computing) bit, smallest unit of storage

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Dutch biet, from Middle Dutch bete, from Latin bēta.

Noun

bit (plural bit-bit)

  1. common beet, beetroot, sugar beet, and chard (Beta vulgaris)
    buah bitbeetroot
Derived terms
  • bit gula
  • bit swiss

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English bit, from Middle English bitte, bite, from Old English bita (bit; fragment; morsel) and bite (a bite; cut), from Proto-Germanic *bitô and *bitiz; both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (to split).

Noun

bit (plural bit-bit)

  1. bit
    1. an excerpt of material making up part of a show, comedy routine, etc.
    2. a gag or put-on; a humorous conceit, especially when insistently presented as true

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English bit, from binary digit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbit/[1]
  • Rhymes: -it
  • Hyphenation: bìt
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

bit m (invariable)

  1. (computing) bit, smallest unit of storage.

References

  1. ^ bit in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Juba Arabic

Etymology

From Sudanese Arabic بت (bitt), from Arabic بِنْت (bint).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbit/, [ˈbit]

Noun

bit (plural banaat)

  1. daughter
  2. girl

Synonyms

  • biniiya

References

  • Ian Smith; Morris Timothy Ama (1985), A Dictionary of Juba Arabic & English[9], 1st edition, Juba: The Committee of The Juba Cheshire Home and Centre for Handicapped Children, page 127

Karaim

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bït.

Noun

bit

  1. louse

References

  • N. A. Baskakov, S.M. Šapšala, editor (1973), “bit”, in Karaimsko-Russko-Polʹskij Slovarʹ [Karaim-Russian-Polish Dictionary], Moscow: Moskva, →ISBN

Khalaj

Perso-Arabic بیت

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bït (louse).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [bɪt], [bi(ˑ)t], [biːt]
  • (Xarrâbî) IPA(key): [bɪt], [bit]

Noun

bit (definite accusative bitü, plural bitlər)

  1. louse

Declension

Declension of bit
singular plural
nominative bit bitlər
genitive bitü̂ñ bitlərü̂ñ
dative bitkə bitlərkə
definite accusative bitü bitlərü
locative bitçə bitlərçə
ablative bitdə bitlərdə
instrumental bitlə bitlərlə
equative bitvâra bitlərvâra

References

  • Doerfer, Gerhard (1980), Wörterbuch des Chaladsch (Dialekt von Charrab) [Khalaj dictionary] (in German), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó
  • Doerfer, Gerhard (1988), Grammatik des Chaladsch [Grammar of Khalaj] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, →OCLC

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bʲit/

Verb

bit

  1. supine of biś

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

bit

  1. alternative form of bite

Etymology 2

Noun

bit

  1. alternative form of bitte

Middle Welsh

Alternative forms

Verb

bit

  1. third-person singular imperative of bot
  2. alternative form of byð (third-person singular consuetudinal present/future)

Mutation

Mutated forms of bit
radical soft nasal aspirate
bit uit / vit mit unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Middle Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Nigerian Pidgin

Etymology

From English beat.

Verb

bit

  1. beat

North Frisian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Frisian bīta.

Verb

bit

  1. (Sylt) to bite

Conjugation

Conjugation of bit (Sylt dialect)
infinitive I bit
infinitive II () biten
past participle beten
imperative bit
  present past
1st singular bit beet
2nd singular betst beetst
3rd singular bet beet
plural / dual bit beet
  perfect pluperfect
1st singular haa beten her beten
2nd singular heest beten herst beten
3rd singular heer beten her beten
plural / dual haa beten her beten
  future (skel) future (wel)
1st singular skel bit wel bit
2nd singular sket bit wet bit
3rd singular skel bit wel bit
plural / dual skel bit wel bit

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse biti.

Noun

bit m (definite singular biten, indefinite plural biter, definite plural bitene)

  1. a bit, piece (of something)
  2. a bite, mouthful (of food)
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From English bit (binary digit).

Noun

bit m (definite singular biten, indefinite plural bit or biter, definite plural bitene)

  1. a bit (binary digit)

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

  • bætta (piece, dialectal)

Etymology 1

From Old Norse.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/

Noun

bit m (definite singular biten, indefinite plural bitar, definite plural bitane)

  1. a bit, piece (of something)
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bit (binary digit).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɪtː/

Noun

bit m (definite singular biten, indefinite plural bit or bitar, definit plural bitane)

  1. a bit (binary digit)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Old Norse bit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/

Noun

bit n (definite singular bitet, indefinite plural bit, definite plural bita)

  1. a bite (e.g. insect bite, dog bite)
  2. a bite, mouthful (of food)

Etymology 4

From the first person singular present indicative of Old Norse bíta, and from the second person singular imperative Old Norse bíta.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/

Verb

bit

  1. inflection of bite:
    1. present
    2. imperative

References

Old English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/
  • Rhymes: -iːt

Verb

bīt

  1. imperative singular of bītan

Old Irish

Verb

bit

  1. third-person plural future of is

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbit/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -it
  • Syllabification: bit
  • Homophones: bid, Bid

Etymology 1

    Borrowed from English bit.

    Noun

    bit m inan (related adjective bitowy)

    1. (mathematics, computing) bit (binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0)
      bit informacjia bit of information
      bit po biciebit by bit
    Declension
    adjectives
    nouns

    Etymology 2

      Borrowed from English beat.

      Alternative forms

      Noun

      bit m inan

      1. beat (instrumental portion of a piece of hip-hop music)
      2. (music) beat (rhythm signalled by a conductor or other musician to the members of a group of musicians)
      Declension

      Etymology 3

        Borrowed from English drill bit.

        Noun

        bit m inan

        1. drill bit
        Declension

        Etymology 4

          Borrowed from English big beat.

          Alternative forms

          Noun

          bit m inan

          1. big beat (form of pop music having distorted breakbeats at a moderate tempo)
            Synonym: big-beat
            polski bitPolish big beat
          Declension

          Further reading

          • bit”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego[10] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
          • bit”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN[11] (in Polish)

          Portuguese

          Etymology

          Unadapted borrowing from English bit.

          Pronunciation

           

          Noun

          bit m (plural bits)

          1. (mathematics, computing) bit (binary digit)

          Synonyms

          • Abbreviations: b

          Coordinate terms

          • byte (unit equivalent to 8 bits)

          Further reading

          Romanian

          Etymology

          Borrowed from English bit or French bit.

          Noun

          bit m (plural biți)

          1. (computing) bit

          Declension

          singular plural
          indefinite definite indefinite definite
          nominative-accusative bit bitul biți biții
          genitive-dative bit bitului biți biților
          vocative bitule biților

          Saterland Frisian

          Etymology

          Related to German bis.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /bɪt/
          • Hyphenation: bit
          • Rhymes: -ɪt

          Conjunction

          bit

          1. until

          Preposition

          bit

          1. until, to

          Derived terms

          References

          • Marron C. Fort (2015), “bit”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

          Scots

          Adjective

          bit

          1. Little.
            • 1889, Jessup Whitehead, The Steward's Handbook and Guide to Party Catering, page 439:
              A bit wee lambie
              (please add an English translation of this quotation)
            • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
              He laid a hundred guineas with the laird of Slofferfield that he would drive four horses through the Slofferfield loch, and in the prank he had his bit chariot dung to pieces and a good mare killed.
              (please add an English translation of this quotation)

          Noun

          bit (plural bits)

          1. (slang) the area one resides in; neighbourhood, ends

          Serbo-Croatian

          Etymology 1

          From bȉti (to be).

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /bîːt/

          Noun

          bȋt f (Cyrillic spelling би̑т)

          1. essence
          2. point, meaning
          Declension
          Declension of bit
          singular plural
          nominative bȋt biti
          genitive biti bítī
          dative biti bitima
          accusative bit biti
          vocative biti biti
          locative biti bitima
          instrumental biti bitima

          Further reading

          • bit”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

          Etymology 2

          Borrowed from English bit.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /bît/

          Noun

          bȉt m inan (Cyrillic spelling би̏т)

          1. (computing) bit
          Declension
          Declension of bit
          singular plural
          nominative bȉt bìtovi
          genitive bita bitova
          dative bitu bitovima
          accusative bit bitove
          vocative bite bitovi
          locative bitu bitovima
          instrumental bitom bitovima

          Further reading

          • bit”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

          Slavomolisano

          Etymology

          From Serbo-Croatian biti, from Proto-Slavic *byti, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *bū́ˀtei, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-.

          Verb

          bit pf or impf

          1. to be

          References

          • Walter Breu and Giovanni Piccoli (2000), Dizionario croato molisano di Acquaviva Collecroce: Dizionario plurilingue della lingua slava della minoranza di provenienza dalmata di Acquaviva Collecroce in Provincia di Campobasso (Parte grammaticale)., pp. 409–412

          Spanish

          Etymology

          Borrowed from English bit.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈbit/ [ˈbit̪]
          • Rhymes: -it
          • Syllabification: bit

          Noun

          bit m (plural bits)

          1. bit (binary digit)

          Further reading

          Swedish

          Etymology 1

          From Old Norse biti.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /biːt/
          • Audio (Gotland):(file)
          • Rhymes: -iːt

          Noun

          bit c

          1. a piece (forming a part of some whole)
            en pusselbit
            a puzzle piece
            en tårtbit / en bit tårta [note that there is no preposition]
            a piece of cake (not an idiom in Swedish – see lätt som en plätt)
            Jag åt tre bitar McNuggets
            I ate three pieces of McNuggets
            Koppen föll i golvet och gick i tusen bitar
            The cup fell to the floor and broke [went] into a thousand pieces
            torskfilé i bitar
            cod fillet cut into pieces
            1. a bit
              Actionhjälten sprängde skurkarna i bitar
              The action hero blew the bad guys to pieces/bits
          2. a bit (certain (not insignificant) distance)
            Den ligger en bit väster om byn
            It lies a bit west of the village
            Huset ligger en bit längre fram
            The house is a bit further ahead
            Det simmar en svan en bit ut på sjön
            There is a swan swimming a bit out on the lake
            Vi följde med henne en bit på vägen
            We accompanied her part of the way [We followed with her a bit on the way (to where she was going)]
            Det är en bra bit till Säffle
            It's quite a drive to Säffle ["It is a good bit to Säffle" – "bra bit" is a common collocation]
            Ta på dig vandringskängorna. Det är en bit att gå.
            Put on your hiking boots. It's a bit of a walk [a bit (implied long) to walk].
            1. way, ways, distance (when more idiomatic)
            2. (figuratively) a bit (of time)
              Vi planerar att skaffa katt en bit längre fram [can also be expressed as "lite längre fram"]
              We're planning to get a cat a bit later on ["further ahead" (longer forth) – still thought of as a distance]
          3. a tune, a piece (song)
            Synonyms: låt, sång
            en svängig bit
            a swinging tune
          Usage notes

          Del (part) is often more idiomatic when piece is interchangeable with part.

          Declension
          Derived terms
          See also
          • del (part)
          • stycke (piece that is a fragment of something in some sense – compare stycka)

          Etymology 2

          From English bit, from binary digit.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /bɪt/
          • Rhymes: -ɪt

          Noun

          bit c

          1. (computing) a bit
            ett 64-bitars operativsystem
            a 64-bit [bits'] operating system
          Declension

          Etymology 3

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /biːt/
          • Rhymes: -iːt

          Verb

          bit

          1. imperative of bita

          References

          Turkish

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈbit/, [ˈbit̪ʰ]

          Etymology 1

          Inherited from Ottoman Turkish بیت, بت (bit), from Proto-Turkic *bït (louse).

          Noun

          bit (definite accusative biti, plural bitler)

          1. (zoology, specifically) louse belonging to genus Pediculus
            • 1940 March 20, “Bütün Haşaratı öldürmeliyiz [We must kill all the bugs]”, in Yeniyol:
              Üzerimizde bulunan çamaşırlarımız arasında saklanan, başımızdaki saçlar arasında yaşıyan ve insandan insana gezen bitleri tanımıyan yoktur.
              Everyone is familiar with lice, which hide in our clothes, live in the hair on our heads, and travel from person to person.
          2. (generally) a sucking insect parasitic on plants or animals, including true lice and aphids
            • 1935 June 28, “Gelinböceklerini öldürmeyiniz! [Don't kill ladybugs!]”, in Zaman, page 5:
              Meyva ağaçlarında çiçeklerde, birçok sebzelerde, bostanlarda yaprakları ve genç sürgünleri sim siyah saran ve onları buruşturup kurutan bu hastalık Puseron adındaki küçük bir takım bitlerden ileri gelir. Ona fen dilinde Afis dirler.
              This disease, which turns leaves and young shoots of fruit trees, flowers, many vegetables, and orchards black, causing them to shrivel and dry, is caused by a small insect called 'puceron'. In the scientific language, it is called 'afis'.
          3. ellipsis of bitpazarı (flea market)
            Hırkam, ee, bitten.
            My cardigan, I bought it from uh... flea market.
          Declension
          Declension of bit
          singular plural
          nominative bit bitler
          definite accusative biti bitleri
          dative bite bitlere
          locative bitte bitlerde
          ablative bitten bitlerden
          genitive bitin bitlerin
          Possessive forms
          nominative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitim bitlerim
          2nd singular bitin bitlerin
          3rd singular biti bitleri
          1st plural bitimiz bitlerimiz
          2nd plural bitiniz bitleriniz
          3rd plural bitleri bitleri
          definite accusative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitimi bitlerimi
          2nd singular bitini bitlerini
          3rd singular bitini bitlerini
          1st plural bitimizi bitlerimizi
          2nd plural bitinizi bitlerinizi
          3rd plural bitlerini bitlerini
          dative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitime bitlerime
          2nd singular bitine bitlerine
          3rd singular bitine bitlerine
          1st plural bitimize bitlerimize
          2nd plural bitinize bitlerinize
          3rd plural bitlerine bitlerine
          locative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitimde bitlerimde
          2nd singular bitinde bitlerinde
          3rd singular bitinde bitlerinde
          1st plural bitimizde bitlerimizde
          2nd plural bitinizde bitlerinizde
          3rd plural bitlerinde bitlerinde
          ablative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitimden bitlerimden
          2nd singular bitinden bitlerinden
          3rd singular bitinden bitlerinden
          1st plural bitimizden bitlerimizden
          2nd plural bitinizden bitlerinizden
          3rd plural bitlerinden bitlerinden
          genitive
          singular plural
          1st singular bitimin bitlerimin
          2nd singular bitinin bitlerinin
          3rd singular bitinin bitlerinin
          1st plural bitimizin bitlerimizin
          2nd plural bitinizin bitlerinizin
          3rd plural bitlerinin bitlerinin
          Predicative forms
          singular plural
          1st singular bitim bitlerim
          2nd singular bitsin bitlersin
          3rd singular bit
          bittir
          bitler
          bitlerdir
          1st plural bitiz bitleriz
          2nd plural bitsiniz bitlersiniz
          3rd plural bitler bitlerdir
          Derived terms
          See also

          Etymology 2

          Borrowed from English bit, abbreviation of binary digit.

          Noun

          bit (definite accusative biti, plural bitler)

          1. (computing) bit
          Declension
          Declension of bit
          singular plural
          nominative bit bitler
          definite accusative biti bitleri
          dative bite bitlere
          locative bitte bitlerde
          ablative bitten bitlerden
          genitive bitin bitlerin
          Possessive forms
          nominative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitim bitlerim
          2nd singular bitin bitlerin
          3rd singular biti bitleri
          1st plural bitimiz bitlerimiz
          2nd plural bitiniz bitleriniz
          3rd plural bitleri bitleri
          definite accusative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitimi bitlerimi
          2nd singular bitini bitlerini
          3rd singular bitini bitlerini
          1st plural bitimizi bitlerimizi
          2nd plural bitinizi bitlerinizi
          3rd plural bitlerini bitlerini
          dative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitime bitlerime
          2nd singular bitine bitlerine
          3rd singular bitine bitlerine
          1st plural bitimize bitlerimize
          2nd plural bitinize bitlerinize
          3rd plural bitlerine bitlerine
          locative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitimde bitlerimde
          2nd singular bitinde bitlerinde
          3rd singular bitinde bitlerinde
          1st plural bitimizde bitlerimizde
          2nd plural bitinizde bitlerinizde
          3rd plural bitlerinde bitlerinde
          ablative
          singular plural
          1st singular bitimden bitlerimden
          2nd singular bitinden bitlerinden
          3rd singular bitinden bitlerinden
          1st plural bitimizden bitlerimizden
          2nd plural bitinizden bitlerinizden
          3rd plural bitlerinden bitlerinden
          genitive
          singular plural
          1st singular bitimin bitlerimin
          2nd singular bitinin bitlerinin
          3rd singular bitinin bitlerinin
          1st plural bitimizin bitlerimizin
          2nd plural bitinizin bitlerinizin
          3rd plural bitlerinin bitlerinin
          Predicative forms
          singular plural
          1st singular bitim bitlerim
          2nd singular bitsin bitlersin
          3rd singular bit
          bittir
          bitler
          bitlerdir
          1st plural bitiz bitleriz
          2nd plural bitsiniz bitlersiniz
          3rd plural bitler bitlerdir
          Synonyms

          Etymology 3

          See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

          Verb

          bit

          1. second-person singular imperative of bitmek

          Further reading

          Turkmen

          Other scripts
          Latin bit
          Cyrillic бит
          Arabic بیت

          Etymology

          From Proto-Turkic *bït (louse). Cognate with Old Turkic [script needed] (bit), Turkish bit (louse), etc.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈbit/, [ˈbɪt̪]

          Noun

          bit (definite accusative bidi, plural bitler)

          1. (zoology) louse

          Declension

          Declension of bit
          singular plural
          nominative bit bitler
          accusative bidi bitleri
          genitive bidiň bitleriň
          dative bide bitlere
          locative bitde bitlerde
          ablative bitden bitlerden

          Further reading

          • bit” in Enedilim.com

          Vietnamese

          Pronunciation

          Noun

          bit

          1. (computing) bit

          Zhuang

          Pronunciation

          Etymology 1

          From Proto-Tai *pitᴰ (duck).[1]

          In Northern Tai, cognate with Bouyei bidt, Saek ปิ๊ด.

          In Zuojiang Zhuang, cognate with bwt (Chongzuo and Ningming dialects)[2] or bit (Longzhou dialect)[2] or bet (Daxin dialect).[2]

          In Central Tai, cognate with Nong Zhuang bet (Guangnan dialect)[2] or baet (Yanshan dialect)[2] or byet.

          In Southwestern Tai, cognate with Thai เป็ด (bpèt), Northern Thai ᨸᩮᩢ᩠ᨯ, Isan เป็ด, Lao ເປັດ (pet), Khün ᨸᩮ᩠ᨯ, ᦵᦔᧆ (ṗed), Tai Dam ꪹꪜꪸꪒ, Shan ပဵတ်း (páet), Tai Nüa ᥙᥥᥖᥱ (pět), Ahom 𑜆𑜢𑜄𑜫 (pit).

          Compare Old Chinese (OC *pʰid), Proto-Be *ɓitᴰ¹.

          Noun

          bit (classifier duz, Sawndip forms [3] or 𱈶[3] or ⿰品鳥[3], 1957–1982 spelling bit)

          1. duck
          Derived terms

          Etymology 2

          From Chinese (MC pit).

          Noun

          bit (classifier gaiq, Sawndip forms 𣭈[3] or 𰚎[3], 1957–1982 spelling bit)

          1. pen; pencil; writing implement

          Classifier

          bit (1957–1982 spelling bit)

          1. Classifier for sums of money and deals.

          Etymology 3

          From Chinese (MC phjit).

          Classifier

          bit (1957–1982 spelling bit)

          1. Classifier for cloth: bolt of

          References

          1. ^ Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2009) The Phonology of Proto-Tai (Doctoral dissertation)‎[3], Department of Linguistics, Cornell University , page 327
          2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Zhang, Junru (张 均如); et al. (1999) 壮语方言研究 [A Study of Zhuang Dialects] (in Chinese), Chengdu: Sichuan Ethnic Publishing House (四川民族出版社), page 615
          3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 广西壮族自治区少数民族古籍整理出版规划领导小组 [Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Leading Group for the Compilation and Publication Planning of Minority Ancient Books], editors (2012), “bit”, in 古壮字字典 [Zhuang: Sawndip Sawdenj, Dictionary of Old Zhuang Characters] (overall work in Zhuang and Mandarin), Guangxi: 广西民族出版社 [Guangxi Nationalities Publishing House], →ISBN