I. ˈmīt, usu -īd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mīte mite (small insect); akin to Middle Dutch mite mite, small copper coin, Old High German mīza mite (insect), meizan to cut, Old Norse meita to cut, Gothic maitan to hew, cut, and to Old English gemād silly, mad — more at mad
1. : any of numerous small to very minute arachnids of the order Acarina that have a body without a constriction between the cephalothorax and abdomen, mandibles generally chelate or adapted for piercing, usually four pairs of short legs in the adult and but three in the young larvae, and often breathing organs in the form of tracheae and that include parasites of insects and vertebrates some of which are important disease vectors, parasites of plants in which they frequently cause gall formation, pests of various stored products, and completely innocuous free-living aquatic and terrestrial forms — see blister mite , cheese mite , clover mite , itch mite
2.
[Middle English, from Middle French or Middle Dutch; Middle French, small Flemish copper coin, from Old French, from Middle Dutch]
a.
(1) : lepton 2
a certain poor widow … threw in two mites — Mk 12:42 (Authorized Version)
(2) : half a farthing
b. : a very small theoretical unit of value or coin ; specifically : a unit of value in England about 1600 worth usually 1/24 penny
3. : an old moneyers' unit of weight equal to 1/20 grain that is no longer used
4.
a. : a very little : bit , jot
only a mite of what it could have taught was seen and learned — Tom Fitzsimmons
— often used adverbially with a
his voice is a mite less luscious than formerly — R.C.Bagar
b. : a very small object, creature, or person
a little kindergarten … mite — Marie Imelda
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably from German meiden to shun, avoid, from Old High German mīdan; akin to Old English mīthan to hide, conceal, avoid, shun, Middle Dutch mīden to avoid, shun, and to Old English missan to miss — more at miss
: to impose an Amish mite on
was mited by church officials for using an automobile
III. noun
( -s )
: a social and economic boycott applied to a member by an Amish congregation for transgressing church law