bit
The origin and history of bit.
Etymology
This word came from Middle English bitte, bite, from Old English bita ("bit; fragment; morsel") and bite ("a bite; cut"), from Proto-Germanic *bitô and *bitiz, both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- ("to split"); see more at bite. It is cognate with West Frisian bit, Saterland Frisian Bit, Dutch bit, German Low German Beet, Biet, German Biss and Bissen, Danish bid, Swedish bit, and Icelandic biti.
