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Bit vs While - What's the difference?

bit | while |

In transitive terms the difference between bit and while

is that bit is to put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of (a horse) while while is to pass (time) idly.

As an adverb bit

is to a small extent; in a small amount (usually with "a").

As an adjective bit

is bitten.

As a conjunction while is

during the same time that.

bit

English

(wikipedia bit)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) bita and bite - all from (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and connected to reins to direct the animal.
  • A rotary cutting tool fitted to a drill, used to bore holes.
  • (dated, British) A coin of a specified value. (Also used for a nine-pence coin in the British Caribbean)
  • (US) An eighth of a dollar. Note that there is no coin minted worth 12.5 cents. (When this term first came into use, the Spanish 8 reales coin was widely used as a dollar equivalent, and thus the 1 real coin was equivalent to 12.5 cents.)
  • (historical, US) In the southern and southwestern states, a small silver coin (such as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth about 12½ cents; also, the sum of 12½ cents.
  • A small amount of something.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=15 citation , passage=‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’}}
  • (informal) Specifically , a small amount of time.
  • A portion of something.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.
  • Somewhat; something, but not very great; also used like jot and whit to express the smallest degree.
  • Am I bored? Not a bit of it!
  • * T. Hook
  • My young companion was a bit of a poet.
  • (slang) A prison sentence, especially a short one.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • (An excerpt of material) An excerpt of material making up part of a show, comedy routine, etc.
  • The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers.
  • (Knight)
  • The cutting iron of a plane.
  • (Knight)
    Synonyms
    * (coin) coin, piece * (small piece) morsel (of food), piece, scrap * (portion) portion, share, segment * (horse equipment) snaffle, pelham, kimberwicke
    Derived terms
    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    Adverb

    (-)
  • To a small extent; in a small amount (usually with "a").
  • That's a bit too sweet.

    Verb

    (bitt)
  • To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of (a horse).
  • Etymology 2

    See bite

    Verb

    (head)
  • (bite)
  • Your dog bit me!
  • , bitten
  • I have been bit by your dog!

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (label) bitten.
  • (label) Having been bitten.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Etymology 3

    Coined by (John Tukey) in 1946 as an abbreviation of (binary digit), probably influenced by connotations of “small portion”.[http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/98/q2/0602-honorary.html][http://www.thocp.net/timeline/1944.htm
  • 1946] First used in print 1948 by (Claude Shannon). Compare (byte) and (nybble).
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • (mathematics, computing) A binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0.
  • (computing) The smallest unit of storage in a digital computer, consisting of a binary digit.
  • (information theory, cryptography) Any datum that may take on one of exactly two values.
  • status bits''' on IRC; permission '''bits in a file system
  • (information theory) A unit of measure for information entropy.
  • * {{quote-web, date = 2011-05-17
  • , author = Lisa Grossman , title = Entropy Is Universal Rule of Language , site = Wired Science , url = http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/05/universal-entropy/ , accessdate = 2012-09-26}}
    The researchers found that the original texts spanned a variety of entropy values in different languages, reflecting differences in grammar and structure.
    But strangely, the difference in entropy between the original, ordered text and the randomly scrambled text was constant across languages. This difference is a way to measure the amount of information encoded in word order, Montemurro says. The amount of information lost when they scrambled the text was about 3.5 bits per word.
    Synonyms
    * (smallest unit of storage) b
    Derived terms
    * bit-depth * bitwise * hidden bit * high-order bit * least significant bit * most significant bit * * * * *
    See also
    * ban, nat, qubit

    Statistics

    *

    while

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
  • He lectured for quite a long while .

    Conjunction

    (wikipedia while) (English Conjunctions)
  • During the same time that.
  • * , chapter=12
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=While the powwow was going on the big woman came back again. She was consider'ble rumpled and scratched up, but there was fire in her eye.}}
  • * 1948 , , North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States , J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25,
  • While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away, were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.}}
  • Although.
  • * 2013 September 28, (Kenan Malik), " London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):
  • While Britain’s recession has been deep and unforgiving, in London it has been relatively shallow.
  • (Northern England, Scotland) Until.
  • * Beaumont and Fletcher
  • I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.
  • As long as.
  • * I. Watts
  • Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement, while you take care not to overload it.

    Verb

    (whil)
  • To pass (time) idly.
  • * Longfellow
  • The lovely lady whiled the hours away.
  • To loiter.
  • (Spectator)

    Derived terms

    * while away * meanwhile * the while