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morsel

 - 3 dictionary results

mor⋅sel

  [mawr-suhl]
–noun
1. a bite, mouthful, or small portion of food, candy, etc.
2. a small piece, quantity, or amount of anything; scrap; bit.
3. something very appetizing; treat or tidbit.
4. a person or thing that is attractive or delightful.
–verb (used with object)
5. to distribute in or divide into tiny portions (often fol. by out): to morsel out the last pieces of meat.
Use morsel in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < OF, equiv. to mors a bite (< L morsum something bitten off, n. use of neut. of morsus, ptp. of mordēre to bite) + -el < L -ellus dim. suffix; see -elle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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mor·sel   (môr'səl)   
n.  

  1. A small piece of food.

  2. A tasty delicacy; a tidbit.

  3. A small amount; a piece: a morsel of gossip.

  4. One that is delightful and extremely pleasing.


[Middle English, from Old French, diminutive of mors, bite, from Latin morsum, from neuter past participle of mordēre, to bite; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

morsel 
c.1290, from O.Fr. morsel (Fr. marceau) "small bite," dim. of mors "a bite," from L. morsus "biting, bite," neut. pp. of mordere "to bite" (see mordant).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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