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bit

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bit


  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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