whit

[hwit, wit]

noun

a particle; bit; jot (used especially in negative phrases): not a whit better.

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. 2019

Related Words for whits

iota, little, mite, jot, speck, trace, fragment, pinch, scrap, drop, particle, hoot, dash, modicum, shred, grain, atom, crumb, piece

British Dictionary definitions for whits

whit

noun

(usually used with a negative) the smallest particle; iota; jothe has changed not a whit

Word Origin for whit

C15: probably variant of wight 1

Whit

noun

See Whitsuntide

adjective

of or relating to Whitsuntide

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

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