Noah Webster
Digit
DIGIT, noun [Latin , a finger, that is, a shoot; Gr.]
1. The measure of a fingers breadth, or three fourths of an inch.
2. The twelfth part of the diameter of the sun or moon; a term used to express the quantity of an eclipse; as, an eclipse of six digits is one which hides one half of the disk.
3. In arithmetic, any integer under 10; so called from counting on the fingers. Thus 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. are called digits.