# mite

> English word · Noun · IPA /maɪt/ · frequency rank #26,169

## Definitions
1. Any of many minute arachnids which, along with the ticks, comprise subclass Acari (syn. Acarina).
2. A small coin formerly circulated in England, rated at about a third of a farthing.
3. A lepton, a small coin used in Judea in the time of Christ.
4. A small weight; one twentieth of a grain.
5. Anything very small; a minute object; a very little quantity or particle.
6. A small or naughty person, or one people take pity on; rascal.

## Etymology
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”).

## Easily confused with
- **MT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mt)
- **mix** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mix)
- **MTV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mtv)
- **moe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-moe)
- **mot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mot)
- **Mme** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mme)
- **miz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-miz)
- **MTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mta)
- **MST** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mst)
- **MRT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mrt)
- **more** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-more)
- **move** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-move)
- **mode** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mode)
- **myth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-myth)
- **mole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mole)
- **mute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mute)
- **muse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-muse)
- **moth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-moth)
- **mule** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-mule)
- **moto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mite-vs-moto)

## Common misspellings (5)
`imte`, `miet`, `mitte`, `mmite`, `mtie`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/mite