A historical term for the fee or portion of grain taken by a miller in payment for grinding grain.
Compound of 'grist' and 'bite,' where 'bite' means a portion or share. The miller's 'bite' was their livelihood, taken directly from the grain ground.
Medieval millers were often unpopular because the gristbite was one of the few 'taxes' that directly affected every person's bread supply—complaints about miller fees appear in documents across Europe.
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