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Definition of partial - 6 dictionary results

par⋅tial

  [pahr-shuhl]
Use partial in a Sentence
–adjective
1. being such in part only; not total or general; incomplete: partial blindness; a partial payment of a debt.
2. biased or prejudiced in favor of a person, group, side, etc., over another, as in a controversy: a partial witness.
3. pertaining to or affecting a part.
4. being a part; component; constituent.
5. Botany. secondary or subordinate: a partial umbel.
–noun
6. Bridge. part-score.
7. Acoustics, Music. partial tone.
—Idiom
8. partial to, having a liking or preference for; particularly fond of: I'm partial to chocolate cake.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME parcial biased, particular < MF < LL partiālis pertaining to a part, equiv. to L parti- (s. of pars) part + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
par⋅tial⋅ly, adverb
par⋅tial⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. unfinished, imperfect, limited. 2. one-sided, unfair, unjust.

Antonyms:
1, 3. complete. 2. unbiased, fair.

partial tone

 
–noun Acoustics, Music.
one of the pure tones forming a part of a complex tone.
Also called partial.

Origin:
1875–80

part-score

  [pahrt-skawr, -skohr]
–noun Bridge.
1. a contract to make less than the number of tricks required for game: to bid a part-score of three diamonds.
2. the number of points gained by making such a contract: a part-score of 60 points.
Also called partial, partial score.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To partial
har·mon·ic   (här-mŏn'ĭk)   
adj.  

    1. Of or relating to harmony.

    2. Pleasing to the ear: harmonic orchestral effects.

    3. Characterized by harmony: a harmonic liturgical chant.

  2. Of or relating to harmonics.

  3. Integrated in nature.

n.  

    1. Any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental tone.

    2. A tone produced on a stringed instrument by lightly touching an open or stopped vibrating string at a given fraction of its length so that both segments vibrate. Also called overtone, partial, partial tone.

  2. harmonics (used with a sing. verb) The theory or study of the physical properties and characteristics of musical sound.

  3. Physics A wave whose frequency is a whole-number multiple of that of another.


[Latin harmonicus, from Greek harmonikos, from harmoniā, harmony; see harmony.]
har·mon'i·cal·ly adv.
par·tial   (pär'shəl)   
adj.  

  1. Of, relating to, being, or affecting only a part; not total; incomplete: The plan calls for partial deployment of missiles. The police have only a partial description of the suspect.

  2. Favoring one person or side over another or others; biased or prejudiced: a decision that was partial to the plaintiff.

  3. Having a particular liking or fondness for something or someone: partial to spicy food.

  4. Mathematics Of or being operations or sequences of operations, such as differentiation and integration, when applied to only one of several variables at a time.

n.  

  1. Music See harmonic.

  2. Mathematics A partial derivative.


[Middle English parcial, from Old French, from Late Latin partiālis, from Latin pars, part-, part; see part.]
par'tial·ness n.
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

partial 
c.1420, "one-sided, biased," from O.Fr. parcial (14c.), from M.L. partialis "divisible, solitary, partial," from L. pars (gen. partis) "part" (see part (n.)). Sense of "not whole, incomplete" is attested from 1460 (implied in partially "incompletely"). Partiality "one-sidedness" is first recorded 1422, from M.Fr. parcialité, from M.L. partialitatem (nom. partialitas), from partialis.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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