13 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bit \Bit\, n.
In the British West Indies, a fourpenny piece, or groat.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bit \Bit\,
3d sing. pr of {Bid}, for biddeth [Obs.] --Chaucer.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bit \Bit\, n. [OE. bitt, bite, AS bite, bite, fr b[=i]tan to
bite. See {Bite}, n. & v., and cf {Bit} a morsel.]
1. The part of a bridle, usually of iron, which is inserted
in the mouth of a horse, and having appendages to which
the reins are fastened. --Shak.
The foamy bridle with the bit of gold. --Chaucer.
2. Fig.: Anything which curbs or restrains.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bit \Bit\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Bitted}; p. pr & vb n.
{Bitting}.]
To put a bridle upon to put the bit in the mouth of
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bit \Bit\,
imp. & p. p. of {Bite}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bit \Bit\, n. [OE. bite, AS bita, fr b[=i]tan to bite; akin to
D. beet, G. bissen bit, morsel, Icel. biti. See {Bite}, v.,
and cf {Bit} part of a bridle.]
1. A part of anything such as may be bitten off or taken
into the mouth; a morsel; a bite. Hence: A small piece of
anything a little; a mite.
2. Somewhat; something but not very great.
My young companion was a bit of a poet. --T. Hook.
Note: This word is used also like jot and whit, to express
the smallest degree; as he is not a bit wiser.
3. A tool for boring, of various forms and sizes, usually
turned by means of a brace or bitstock. See {Bitstock}.
4. The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the
bolt and tumblers. --Knight.
5. The cutting iron of a plane. --Knight.
6. In the Southern and Southwestern States, a small silver
coin (as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth
about 12 1/2 cents; also the sum of 12 1/2 cents.
{Bit my bit}, piecemeal. --Pope.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bite \Bite\, v. t. [imp. {Bit}; p. p. {Bitten}, {Bit}; p. pr &
vb n. {Biting}.] [OE. biten, AS b[=i]tan; akin to D.
bijten OS b[=i]tan, OHG. b[=i]zan, G. beissen Goth.
beitan Icel. b[=i]ta, Sw bita, Dan. bide, L. findere to
cleave, Skr. bhid to cleave. [root]87. Cf {Fissure}.]
1. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the
thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth;
as to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man.
Such smiling rogues as these Like rats, oft bite
the holy cords atwain. --Shak.
2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some
insects) used in taking food.
3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to to hurt or injure,
in a literal or a figurative sense as pepper bites the
mouth. ``Frosts do bite the meads.'' --Shak.
4. To cheat; to trick; to take in [Colloq.] --Pope.
5. To take hold of to hold fast to adhere to as the
anchor bites the ground.
The last screw of the rack having been turned so
often that its purchase crumbled, . . . it turned
and turned with nothing to bite. --Dickens.
{To bite the dust}, {To bite the ground}, to fall in the
agonies of death; as he made his enemy bite the dust.
{To bite in} (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic
plates by means of an acid.
{To bite the thumb at} (any one), formerly a mark of
contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. ``Do you
bite your thumb at us?'' --Shak.
{To bite the tongue}, to keep silence. --Shak.
From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]:
bit
adj : injured by bites or stings; "leaving the biter bit"; "her
poor mosquito-bitten legs" [syn: {bitten}, {stung}]
n 1: (British) a small quantity; "a spot of tea"; "a bit of
paper" [syn: {spot}]
2: a small fragment of something broken off from the whole; "a
bit of rock caught him in the eye" [syn: {chip}, {flake},
{fleck}, {scrap}]
3: an indefinitely short time; "wait just a moment"; "it only
takes a minute"; "in just a bit" [syn: {moment}, {minute},
{second}]
4: an instance of some kind "it was a nice piece of work"; "he
had a bit of good luck" [syn: {piece}]
5: piece of metal held in horse's mouth by reins and used to
control the horse while riding; "the horse was not
accustomed to a bit"
6: a unit of measurement of information (from Binary+digIT);
the amount of information in a system having two
equiprobable states; "there are 8 bits in a byte"
7: a small amount of solid food; a mouthful; "all they had left
was a bit of bread" [syn: {morsel}, {bite}]
8: a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer
program; "he did his act three times every evening"; "she
had a catchy little routine"; "it was one of the best
numbers he ever did" [syn: {act}, {routine}, {number}, {turn}]
9: the cutting part of a drill; usually pointed and threaded
and is replaceable in a brace or bitstock or drill press;
"he looked around for the right size bit"
From Jargon File (4.2.3, 23 NOV 2000) [jargon]:
bit n. [from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT'] 1.
[techspeak] The unit of information; the amount of information obtained
by asking a yes-or-no question for which the two outcomes are equally
probable. 2. [techspeak] A computational quantity that can take on one
of two values, such as true and false or 0 and 1. 3. A mental flag:
a reminder that something should be done eventually. "I have a bit
set for you." (I haven't seen you for a while and I'm supposed to
tell or ask you something.) 4. More generally, a (possibly incorrect)
mental state of belief. "I have a bit set that says that you were the
last guy to hack on EMACS." (Meaning "I think you were the last guy
to hack on EMACS, and what I am about to say is predicated on this
so please stop me if this isn't true.")
"I just need one bit from you" is a polite way of indicating that
you intend only a short interruption for a question that can presumably
be answered yes or no
A bit is said to be `set' if its value is true or 1, and `reset'
or `clear' if its value is false or 0. One speaks of setting and
clearing bits. To {toggle} or `invert' a bit is to change it either
from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0. See also {flag}, {trit}, {mode bit}.
The term `bit' first appeared in print in the computer-science
sense in a 1948 paper by information theorist Claude Shannon, and was
there credited to the early computer scientist John Tukey (who also
seems to have coined the term `software'). Tukey records that `bit'
evolved over a lunch table as a handier alternative to `bigit' or `binit',
at a conference in the winter of 1943-44.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]:
bit
b binary digit.
The unit of information; the amount of information obtained by
asking a yes-or-no question; a computational quantity that can
take on one of two values, such as true and false or 0 and 1;
the smallest unit of storage - sufficient to hold one bit.
A bit is said to be set" if its value is true or 1, and
reset" or clear" if its value is false or 0. One speaks of
setting and clearing bits. To {toggle} or invert" a bit is
to change it either from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0.
The term bit" first appeared in print in the computer-science
sense in 1949, and seems to have been coined by early computer
scientist John Tukey. Tukey records that it evolved over a
lunch table as a handier alternative to bigit" or "binit".
See also {flag}, {trit}, {mode bit}, {byte}, {word}.
[{Jargon File}]
(1996-11-03)
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Bit
the curb put into the mouths of horses to restrain them The
Hebrew word metheg so rendered in Ps 32:9 is elsewhere
translated bridle" (2 Kings 19:28; Prov. 26:3; Isa. 37:29).
Bits were generally made of bronze or iron, but sometimes also
of gold or silver. In James 3:3 the Authorized Version
translates the Greek word by "bits," but the Revised Version by
"bridles."
From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms 13 March 2001 [vera]:
BIT
Basic Interconnection Test (ISO 9646-1)
From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms 13 March 2001 [vera]:
BIT
Binary digIT
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