Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

whit

[hwit, wit]
noun
  1. a particle; bit; jot (used especially in negative phrases): not a whit better.
Show More

Origin of whit

1470–80; perhaps alteration of Middle English wiht wight1
Can be confusedwhit wit
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

iotalittlemitejotspecktracefragmentpinchscrapdropparticlehootdashmodicumshredgrainatomcrumbpiece
British Dictionary definitions for whits

whit

noun
  1. (usually used with a negative) the smallest particle; iota; jothe has changed not a whit
Show More

Word Origin

C15: probably variant of wight 1

Whit

noun
  1. See Whitsuntide
Show More
adjective
  1. of or relating to Whitsuntide
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for whits

whit

n.

"smallest particle," 12c., in na whit "no amount," from Old English nan wiht, from wiht "amount," originally "person, human being" (see wight).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper