morsel
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English morsel, from Old French morsel, from Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, perfect passive participle of mordeo (“I bite”). Compare French morceau.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
morsel (plural morsels)
- A small fragment or share of something, commonly applied to food.
- 1979, Roald Dahl, The Twits:
- By sticking out his tongue and curling it sideways to explore the hairy jungle around his mouth, he was always able to find a tasty morsel here and there to nibble on.
- A mouthful of food.
- 1644, James Howell, England’s Teares, for the Present Wars, […], London: […] Richard Heron, →OCLC, page 4:
- Me thinks I ſee the Turke nodding vvith his Turban, and telling me that I ſhould thanke Heaven for that diſtance vvhich is betvvixt us, els he vvould ſvvallovv me all up at one morſell; […]
- A very small amount.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:modicum
- 2008, Pamela Griffin, New York Brides, Barbour Publishing, →ISBN, page 70:
- Didn't even a morsel of decency remain in his brother?
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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Further reading edit
- “morsel”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “morsel”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “morsel”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “morsel”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Old French morsel, morsiel, morcel.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
morsel (plural morsels)
Descendants edit
References edit
- “morsel, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Old French edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, past participle of mordeō, mordēre (“bite, nibble, gnaw”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to rub, wipe; to pack, rob”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
morsel oblique singular, m (oblique plural morseaus or morseax or morsiaus or morsiax or morsels, nominative singular morseaus or morseax or morsiaus or morsiax or morsels, nominative plural morsel)