a body in which the internal motion is negligible.
a clause or article, as of a document.
Grammar.
(in some languages) one of the major form classes, or parts of speech, consisting of words that are neither nouns nor verbs, or of all uninflected words, or the like.
such a word.
a small word of functional or relational use, as an article, preposition, or conjunction, whether of a separate form class or not.
Roman Catholic Church. a small piece of the Host given to each lay communicant in a Eucharistic service.
Origin of particle
First recorded in 1350–1400;Middle English word from Latin word particula. See part, -i-, -cle1
Related formspar·ti·cled, adjectivein·ter·par·ti·cle, adjective
a very tiny amount; iotait doesn't make a particle of difference
a function word, esp (in certain languages) a word belonging to an uninflected class having suprasegmental or grammatical functionthe Greek particles ``mēn'' and ``de'' are used to express contrast; questions in Japanese are indicated by the particle ``ka''; English ``up'' is sometimes regarded as an adverbial particle
a common affix, such as re-, un-, or -ness
physicsa body with finite mass that can be treated as having negligible size, and internal structure
late 14c., "small part or division of a whole, minute portion of matter," from Latin particula "little bit or part, grain, jot," diminutive of pars (genitive partis) "part;" see part (n.). Particle physics attested from 1969. In construction, particle board (1957) is so called because it is made from chips and shavings of wood.
