IT> /trIT/ (By analogy wITh "bIT") One base-3 digIT the amount of information conveyed by a selection among one of three equally likely outcomes. TrITs arise, for example, in the context of a flag that should actually be able to assume *three* values - such as yes, no, or unknown. TrITs are sometimes jokingly called "3-state bITs". A trIT may be semi-seriously referred to as "a bIT and a half", although IT is linearly equivalent to 1.5849625 bITs (that is, log2(3) bITs). [Jargon File] (1995-05-11)
