particle

B2 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /ˈpɑɹtɪkəl/ UK /ˈpɑːtɪk(ə)l/ See IPA manual

Freq #9745

Meanings

1

noun
A very small piece of something.

Tiny particles of dust floated in the sunlight.
2

noun
A tiny unit of matter smaller than an atom.

Scientists study how subatomic particles behave.
3

noun
A small word, such as 'to' or 'up', that has a grammatical job but little meaning on its own.

In the phrase 'give up', the word 'up' is a particle.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a very small piece of... speck bit fragment

2 noun · a tiny unit of matter... subatomic particle

Word family

Forms particles

Derived forms adparticleanti-particleantiparticleastroparticlebioparticlecharged-particlecosmoparticleferroparticlegeoparticleholoparticleimmunoparticleinfraparticle

Related forms part particular particulate

Etymology

From Middle French particule, and its source, Latin particula (“small part, particle”), diminutive of pars (“part, piece”). Semantically displaced native Old English grot whence modern English groat.

*perh₃- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

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# particle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɑɹtɪkəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɑːtɪk(ə)l/
**Frequency rank:** 9745

## Meanings
1. A very small piece of something.
2. A tiny unit of matter smaller than an atom.
3. A small word, such as 'to' or 'up', that has a grammatical job but little meaning on its own.

## Examples
- Tiny particles of dust floated in the sunlight.
- Scientists study how subatomic particles behave.
- In the phrase 'give up', the word 'up' is a particle.

## Derived Forms
- adparticle
- anti-particle
- antiparticle
- astroparticle
- bioparticle
- charged-particle
- cosmoparticle
- ferroparticle
- geoparticle
- holoparticle
- immunoparticle
- infraparticle

## Related Forms
- part
- particular
- particulate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *perh₃-

## Etymology
From Middle French particule, and its source, Latin particula (“small part, particle”), diminutive of pars (“part, piece”). Semantically displaced native Old English grot whence modern English groat.

## AI Etymology
Particle comes from Middle French particule, and its source, Latin particula (“small part, particle”), diminutive of pars (“part, piece”). Semantically displaced native Old English grot whence modern English groat. Modern senses include a very small piece of something and a tiny unit of matter smaller than an atom. The wider word family includes derivatives such as adparticle, anti-particle, antiparticle, astroparticle, bioparticle, and charged-particle and related forms such as part, particular, and particulate.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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particle

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