Link Centre Dictionary

mite

US/maɪt/ uncommon

noun

1.

a slight but appreciable addition

  • “this dish could use a touch of garlic”
Synonyms
2.

any of numerous very small to minute arachnids often infesting animals or plants or stored foods

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”).

Phrases

  • a mite
  • air-sac mite
  • bee mite
  • beetle mite
  • bird mite
  • blackberry mite
  • book mite
  • broad mite

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.