Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Dust \Dust\, n. [AS. dust; cf. LG. dust, D. duist meal dust, OD.
   doest, donst, and G. dunst vapor, OHG. tunist, dunist, a
   blowing, wind, Icel. dust dust, Dan. dyst mill dust; perh.
   akin to L. fumus smoke, E. fume. ?.]
   1. Fine, dry particles of earth or other matter, so
      comminuted that they may be raised and wafted by the wind;
      that which is crumbled too minute portions; fine powder;
      as, clouds of dust; bone dust.

            Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
                                                  --Gen. iii.
                                                  19.

            Stop! -- for thy tread is on an empire's dust.
                                                  --Byron.

   2. A single particle of earth or other matter. [R.] ``To
      touch a dust of England's ground.'' --Shak.

   3. The earth, as the resting place of the dead.

            For now shall sleep in the dust.      --Job vii. 21.

   4. The earthy remains of bodies once alive; the remains of
      the human body.

            And you may carve a shrine about my dust.
                                                  --Tennyson.

   5. Figuratively, a worthless thing.

            And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust. --Shak.

   6. Figuratively, a low or mean condition.

            [God] raiseth up the poor out of the dust. --1 Sam.
                                                  ii. 8.

   7. Gold dust; hence: (Slang) Coined money; cash.

   {Down with the dust}, deposit the cash; pay down the money.
      [Slang] ``My lord, quoth the king, presently deposit your
      hundred pounds in gold, or else no going hence all the
      days of your life. . . . The Abbot down with his dust, and
      glad he escaped so, returned to Reading.'' --Fuller.

   {Dust brand} (Bot.), a fungous plant ({Ustilago Carbo}); --
      called also {smut}.

   {Gold dust}, fine particles of gold, such as are obtained in
      placer mining; -- often used as money, being transferred
      by weight.

   {In dust and ashes}. See under {Ashes}.

   {To bite the dust}. See under {Bite}, v. t.

   {To}

   {raise, or kick up, dust}, to make a commotion. [Colloq.]

   {To throw dust in one's eyes}, to mislead; to deceive.
      [Colloq.]

Bite \Bite\, v. t. [imp. {Bit}; p. p. {Bitten}, {Bit}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Biting}.] [OE. biten, AS. b[=i]tan; akin to D.
   bijten, OS. b[=i]tan, OHG. b[=i]zan, G. beissen, Goth.
   beitan, Icel. b[=i]ta, Sw. bita, Dan. bide, L. findere to
   cleave, Skr. bhid to cleave. [root]87. Cf. {Fissure}.]
   1. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the
      thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth;
      as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man.

            Such smiling rogues as these, Like rats, oft bite
            the holy cords atwain.                --Shak.

   2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some
      insects) used in taking food.

   3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure,
      in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the
      mouth. ``Frosts do bite the meads.'' --Shak.

   4. To cheat; to trick; to take in. [Colloq.] --Pope.

   5. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the
      anchor bites the ground.

            The last screw of the rack having been turned so
            often that its purchase crumbled, . . . it turned
            and turned with nothing to bite.      --Dickens.

   {To bite the dust}, {To bite the ground}, to fall in the
      agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust.

   {To bite in} (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic
      plates by means of an acid.

   {To bite the thumb at} (any one), formerly a mark of
      contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. ``Do you
      bite your thumb at us?'' --Shak.

   {To bite the tongue}, to keep silence. --Shak.