short bit

noun

short bit

noun

Etymology With the adoption of decimal US currency in 1794, there was no longer a US coin worth one eighth of a dollar, but two bits retained the meaning of one quarter dollar. Because there was no one-bit coin, a dime (10¢) was sometimes called a short bit and 15¢ a long bit.

1

US, Historical The monetary amount of ten cents.

Coordinate terms
long bit

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.