dictionary help1. <zoology> 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. [D. Mijt; prob. The same word] A small coin formerly circulated in England, rated at about a third of a farthing. The name is also applied to a small coin used in Palestine in the time of Christ. "Two mites, which make a farthing." (Mark xii. 49)
3. A small weight; one twentieth of a grain.
4. Anything very small; a minute object; a very little quantity or particle. "For in effect they be not worth a myte." (Chaucer)
Origin: AS. Mite mite (in sense 1); akin to LG. Mite, D. Mijt, G. Miete, OHG. Miza; cf. Goth. Maitan to cut.
(01 Mar 1998)
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