Where does “mite” come from?

mite (Middle English) comes from Old English mīte, from Proto-Germanic mītǭ, from Proto-Germanic maitaną, from Proto-Indo-European mēi-.

Ancestry of “mite”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmītemite, tiny insect
2Proto-Germanicmītǭbiting insect; literally, cutter; biting insect
3Proto-Germanicmaitanąto cut, hew; to cut off, sever
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmēi-—

Words derived from “mite”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēi- →Every word from Proto-Germanic maitaną →Every word from Proto-Germanic mītǭ →