Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BIT, n.² [Sax. bita, a bite or mouthful; bitan, to bite; D. bit; G. biss.]

1. A small piece; a mouthful, or morsel; a bite.
2. A small piece of any substance.
3. A small coin of the West Indies, a half pistareen, about ten cents, or five pence sterling.
4. The point of an auger, or other borer; the bite.
5. The cutting part of a carpenter's plane. This word is used, like jot and whit, to express the smallest degree; as, he is not a bit wiser or better.