piecemeal

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled piece-meal

US /ˈpisˌmil/ UK /ˈpiːsˌmiːl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adv
one piece or stage at a time; in a gradual, unsystematic way

The reforms were introduced piecemeal over a decade.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · one piece or stage at a... graduallybit by bitincrementallyfragmentarilyintermittently sporadically

Opposites

wholesale systematically comprehensivelyall at once

Word family

Related forms piece meal

Simplified etymology

Piecemeal dates from Middle English and means “a bit at a time.” Its meal element preserves an Old English sense of meal meaning “a measure.”

Etymology

From Middle English pecemele, from pece ('piece') + the now-obsolete suffix -mele ('measure, portion at a time'), from Old English mælum, dative plural of mæl ('measure, fixed time').

mæl Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# piecemeal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /ˈpisˌmil/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpiːsˌmiːl/

## Meanings
1. one piece or stage at a time; in a gradual, unsystematic way

## Examples
- The reforms were introduced piecemeal over a decade.

## Synonyms
- gradually
- bit by bit
- incrementally
- fragmentarily
- intermittently
- sporadically

## Antonyms
- wholesale
- systematically
- comprehensively
- all at once

## Related Forms
- piece
- meal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mæl

## Etymology
From Middle English pecemele, from pece ('piece') + the now-obsolete suffix -mele ('measure, portion at a time'), from Old English mælum, dative plural of mæl ('measure, fixed time').

## AI Etymology
Piecemeal comes from Middle English pecemele, from pece ('piece') + the now-obsolete suffix -mele ('measure, portion at a time'), from Old English mælum, dative plural of mæl ('measure, fixed time'). The historical trail runs through Old English mæl. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means one piece or stage at a time; in a gradual, unsystematic way. Related forms include piece, meal.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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