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Added 10 October 2026

mite

/maɪt/ noun

In Latin: acarus Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about mite at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Any of many minute arachnids which, along with the ticks, comprise subclass Acari (syn. Acarina).
A small coin formerly circulated in England, rated at about a third of a farthing.
A lepton, a small coin used in Judea in the time of Christ.

verb

Eye dialect spelling of might.

Origin

From Middle English mite, from Old English mīte (“mite, tiny insect”), from Proto-West Germanic *mītā, from Proto-Germanic *mītǭ (“biting insect”, literally “cutter”), from *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small”) or *meh₂y- (“to cut”). Akin to Old High German mīza (“mite”), Middle Dutch mīte (“moth, mite”), Dutch mijt (“moth, mite”), Danish mide (“mite”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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