particle

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: par=ti=cle

CIDE DICTIONARY

particle, n. [L. particula, dim. of pars, gen partis, a part: cf. F. particule. See Part, and cf. Parcel.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "The small size of atoms which unite
  To make the smallest particle of light."  [1913 Webster]
•  Any very small portion or part; the smallest portion; as, he has not a particle of patriotism or virtue.  [1913 Webster]

  "The houses had not given their commissioners authority in the least particle to recede."  [1913 Webster]
•  A crumb or little piece of consecrated host.  Bp. Fitzpatrick.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  An elementary particle.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

particle, n.
1 a minute portion of matter.
2 the least possible amount (not a particle of sense).
3 Gram. a a minor part of speech, esp. a short undeclinable one. b a common prefix or suffix such as in-, -ness.

Etymology

ME f. L particula (as PART)

THESAURUS

particle

K-meson, ace, adjectival, adjective, adverb, adverbial, adversative conjunction, atom, attributive, beta particle, bit, butt, chip, chunk, clip, clipping, collop, conjunction, conjunctive adverb, coordinating conjunction, copulative, copulative conjunction, correlative conjunction, crumb, cut, cutting, dab, damn, disjunctive, disjunctive conjunction, dole, dollop, dot, dram, dribble, driblet, drop, droplet, dwarf, electron, end, exclamatory noun, farthing, fleck, flyspeck, form class, form word, fragment, function class, gerundive, gleam, gnat, gob, gobbet, grain, granule, graviton, groat, hair, handful, hint, hoot, hunk, interjection, iota, jot, little, little bit, lota, lump, meson, mesotron, microbe, microorganism, midge, minim, minimum, minutia, minutiae, mite, modicum, moiety, molecule, morsel, mote, neutron, nutshell, ounce, paring, part of speech, participle, past participle, pebble, perfect participle, photon, piece, pinch, pinhead, pinpoint, pion, pittance, point, preposition, present participle, proton, quark, rasher, ray, scintilla, scoop, scrap, scruple, shard, shaving, shiver, shred, slice, sliver, smidgen, smidgin, smitch, smithereen, snack, snap, snatch, snip, snippet, spark, speck, splinter, spoonful, spot, stitch, stump, subordinating conjunction, suggestion, suspicion, syllable, tatter, thimbleful, tiny bit, tittle, trifling amount, trivia, vanishing point, verbal adjective, whit, whoop

ROGET THESAURUS

particle

Smallness

N smallness, littleness, tenuity, paucity, fewness, meanness, insignificance (unimportance), mediocrity, moderation, small quantity, modicum, trace, hint, minimum, vanishing point, material point, atom, particle, molecule, corpuscle, point, speck, dot, mote, jot, iota, ace, minutiae, details, look, thought, idea, soupcon, dab, dight, whit, tittle, shade, shadow, spark, scintilla, gleam, touch, cast, grain, scruple, granule, globule, minim, sup, sip, sop, spice, drop, droplet, sprinkling, dash, morceau, screed, smack, tinge, tincture, inch, patch, scantling, tatter, cantlet, flitter, gobbet, mite, bit, morsel, crumb, seed, fritter, shive, snip, snippet, snick, snack, snatch, slip, scrag, chip, chipping, shiver, sliver, driblet, clipping, paring, shaving, hair, nutshell, thimbleful, spoonful, handful, capful, mouthful, fragment, fraction, drop in the ocean, animalcule, trifle, mere nothing, next to nothing, hardly anything, just enough to swear by, the shadow of a shade, finiteness, finite quantity, small, little, diminutive, minute, fine, inconsiderable, paltry, faint, slender, light, slight, scanty, scant, limited, meager, sparing, few, low, so-so, middling, tolerable, no great shakes, below par, under par, below the mark, at a low ebb, halfway, moderate, modest, tender, subtle, inappreciable, evanescent, infinitesimal, homeopathic, very small, atomic, corpuscular, microscopic, molecular, subatomic, mere, simple, sheer, stark, bare, near run, dull, petty, shallow, stolid, ungifted, unintelligent, to a small extent, on a small scale, a little bit, a wee bit, slightly, imperceptibly, miserably, wretchedly, insufficiently, imperfectly, faintly, passably, pretty well, well enough, partially, in part, in a certain degree, to a certain degree, to a certain extent, comparatively, some, rather in some degree, in some measure, something, somewhat, simply, only, purely, merely, at least, at the least, at most, at the most, ever so little, as little as may be, tant soit peu, in ever so small a degree, thus far, pro tanto, within bounds, in a manner, after a fashion, so to speak, almost, nearly, well-nigh, short of, not quite, all but, near upon, close upon, peu s'en faut, near the mark, within an ace of, within an inch of, on the brink of, scarcely, hardly, barely, only just, no more than, about, thereabouts, somewhere about, nearly, say, be the same, be little more or less, no ways, no way, no wise, not at all, not in the least, not a bit, not a bit of it, not a whit, not a jot, not a shadow, in no wise, in no respect, by no means, by no manner of means, on no account, at no hand, dare pondus idonea fumo, magno conatu magnas nugas, small sands the mountain, moments make the year.

Part

N part, portion, dose, item, particular, aught, any, division, ward, subdivision, section, chapter, clause, count, paragraph, verse, article, passage, sector, segment, fraction, fragment, cantle, frustum, detachment, parcel, piece, lump, bit cut, cutting, chip, chunk, collop, slice, scale, lamina, small part, morsel, particle, installment, dividend, share, debris, odds and ends, oddments, detritus, excerpta, member, limb, lobe, lobule, arm, wing, scion, branch, bough, joint, link, offshoot, ramification, twig, bush, spray, sprig, runner, leaf, leaflet, stump, component part, sarmentum, compartment, department, county, fractional, fragmentary, sectional, aliquot, divided, in compartments, multifid, disconnected, partial, partly, in part, partially, piecemeal, part by part, by by installments, by snatches, by inches, by driblets, bit by bit, inch by inch, foot by foot, drop by drop, in detail, in lots.

Pulverulence

N powderiness, pulverulence, sandiness, efflorescence, friability, powder, dust, sand, shingle, sawdust, grit, meal, bran, flour, farina, rice, paddy, spore, sporule, crumb, seed, grain, particle, limature, filings, debris, detritus, tailings, talus slope, scobs, magistery, fine powder, flocculi, smoke, cloud of dust, cloud of sand, cloud of smoke, puff of smoke, volume of smoke, sand storm, dust storm, pulverization, comminution, attenuation, granulation, disintegration, subaction, contusion, trituration, levigation, abrasion, detrition, multure, limitation, tripsis, filing, mill, arrastra, gristmill, grater, rasp, file, mortar and pestle, nutmeg grater, teeth, grinder, grindstone, kern, quern, koniology, powdery, pulverulent, granular, mealy, floury, farinaceous, branny, furfuraceous, flocculent, dusty, sandy, sabulous, psammous, arenose, arenarious, arenaceous, gritty, efflorescent, impalpable, lentiginous, lepidote, sabuline, sporaceous, sporous, pulverizable, friable, crumbly, shivery, pulverized, attrite, in pieces.