From bit + -ock (diminutive suffix). Compare Middle English bitlok (“bittock”).
bittock (plural bittocks)
- A little bit; a small piece.
2008, Sir Richard F. Burton, Arabian Nights, in 16 Volumes:Then I cut the flesh into bittocks And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.
- A short distance.