particle English · revision 14997

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1380|origins=la pars}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈpɑː.tɪ.kəl/, US /ˈpɑːr.t̬ə.kəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|particula|t=little bit or part, grain]], a diminutive of [[m|la|pars|t=part, piece]] (see [[part]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[ine-pro|*pere-|t=to grant, allot]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small part of a whole: 1380 in the OED;^(OED 1989) a minute portion of matter before 1398, in Trevisa, in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In grammar a particle is a minor part of speech, from 1533.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A very small amount of something immaterial is from 1620,^(OED 1989) and the part of the Host given to each communicant from 1727–41.^(OED 1989) The adverb in a phrasal verb is a particle from 1925.^(OED 1989) The ''particle accelerator'' is from 1946,^(Barnhart 1988) ''particle physics'' from 1946 in Barnhart, 1969 in Etymonline,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and ''particle board'', made of wood chips, from 1957.^(Etymonline) In obsolete Scots a particle was a small piece of land.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1380 – a small part.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1398 – a minute portion of matter.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1533 – a particle (grammar).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1946 – particle accelerator.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1957 – particle board.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very small piece of matter; a speck.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A very small amount: ''not a particle of difference''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(physics)'' An elementary unit of matter, such as an electron or proton.^(AHD)

+ # ''(grammar)'' A short function word, such as a word forming part of a phrasal verb.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[particled]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[part]]

+ * [[particular]]

+ * [[particulate]]

+ * [[partial]]

+ * [[parcel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}