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Definition of particle - 8 dictionary results
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par⋅ti⋅cle

  [pahr-ti-kuhl]
Use particle in a Sentence
–noun
1. a minute portion, piece, fragment, or amount; a tiny or very small bit: a particle of dust; not a particle of supporting evidence.
2. Physics.
a. one of the extremely small constituents of matter, as an atom or nucleus.
b. an elementary particle, quark, or gluon.
c. a body in which the internal motion is negligible.
3. a clause or article, as of a document.
4. Grammar.
a. (in some languages) one of the major form classes, or parts of speech, consisting of words that are neither nouns nor verbs, or of all uninflected words, or the like.
b. such a word.
c. a small word of functional or relational use, as an article, preposition, or conjunction, whether of a separate form class or not.
5. Roman Catholic Church. a small piece of the Host given to each lay communicant in a Eucharistic service.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L particula. See part, -i-, -cle 1

Related forms:
par⋅ti⋅cled, adjective

Synonyms:
1. mite, whit, iota, jot, tittle, grain, speck.

elementary particle

 
–noun Physics.
any lepton, hadron, photon, or graviton, the particles once thought to be the indivisible components of all matter or radiation.
Also called fundamental particle, particle.

Origin:
1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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par·ti·cle   (pär'tĭ-kəl)   
n.  
  1. A very small piece or part; a tiny portion or speck.
  2. A very small or the smallest possible amount, trace, or degree: not a particle of doubt.
  3. Physics
    1. A body whose spatial extent and internal motion and structure, if any, are irrelevant in a specific problem.
    2. An elementary particle.
    3. A subatomic particle. See Table at subatomic particle.
    4. An uninflected item that has grammatical function but does not clearly belong to one of the major parts of speech, such as up in He looked up the word or to in English infinitives.
    5. In some systems of grammatical analysis, any of various short function words, including articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
    6. A small piece of a consecrated host.
    7. One of the smaller, individual hosts.
  4. Linguistics
    1. An uninflected item that has grammatical function but does not clearly belong to one of the major parts of speech, such as up in He looked up the word or to in English infinitives.
    2. In some systems of grammatical analysis, any of various short function words, including articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
    3. A small piece of a consecrated host.
    4. One of the smaller, individual hosts.
  5. Roman Catholic Church
    1. A small piece of a consecrated host.
    2. One of the smaller, individual hosts.
  6. Archaic A small division or section of something written, such as a clause of a document.

[Middle English, from Latin particula, diminutive of pars, part-, part; see part.]
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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Particle

Par"ti*cle\, n. [L. particula, dim of pars, gen partis, a part: cf. F. particule. See Part, and cf. Parcel.]

1. A minute part or portion of matter; a morsel; a little bit; an atom; a jot; as, a particle of sand, of wood, of dust.

The small size of atoms which unite To make the smallest particle of light. --Blackmore.

2. Any very small portion or part; the smallest portion; as, he has not a particle of patriotism or virtue.

The houses had not given their commissioners authority in the least particle to recede. --Clarendon.

3. (R. C. Ch.) (a) A crumb or little piece of concecrated host. (b) The smaller hosts distributed in the communion of the laity. --Bp. Fitzpatrick.

4. (Gram.) A subordinate word that is never inflected (a preposition, conjunction, interjection); or a word that can not be used except in compositions; as, ward in backward, ly in lovely.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : particle
Spanish: partícula,
German: das Teilchen,
Japanese: 粒子
More Translations »

particle 
1380, "small part or division of a whole," from L. particula "little bit or part," dim. of pars (gen. partis), see part (n.). In construction, particle board (1957) is so called because it is made from chips and shavings of wood.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: par·ti·cle
Pronunciation: 'pärt-i-k&l
Function: noun
1 : one of the minute subdivisions of matter (as an atom ormolecule); also : ELEMENTARY PARTICLE
2 : a minute quantity or fragment
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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particle par·ti·cle (pär'tĭ-kəl)
n.

  1. A very small piece or part.
  2. An elementary particle.
  3. A subatomic particle.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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particle   (pär'tĭ-kəl)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A very small piece of solid matter.
  2. An elementary particle, subatomic particle, or atomic nucleus. Also called corpuscle.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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