remnant
[rem-nuh nt]
- a remaining, usually small part, quantity, number, or the like.
- a fragment or scrap.
- a small, unsold or unused piece of cloth, lace, etc., as at the end of a bolt.
- a trace; vestige: remnants of former greatness.
Show More
- remaining; leftover.
Show More
Origin of remnant
1300–50; Middle English remna(u)nt, contraction of remenant < Old French, present participle of remenoir to remain
Synonyms
See more synonyms for remnant on Thesaurus.com1. remainder, residue, residuum, rest, remains.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for remnant
Contemporary Examples
My dad had worked for a while as a ranch hand, and his “Open Road” was a remnant of those days.
A frayed, foreshortened square of cloth is produced, a remnant of some great emotion.
It was a remnant of an older era of country song and show, without irony or drama.
“A remnant of you worries the same way you did when they were teenagers,” she says.
His arms are covered in tattoos, and he speaks with a bit of a lisp—a remnant, he says, of his California upbringing.
Hunter Moore, Creator of ‘Revenge Porn’ Website Is Anyone Up?, Is the Internet’s Public Enemy No. 1Marlow Stern
March 13, 2012
Historical Examples
All that is left of the Cheyenne Bundle is now with the remnant of the tribe in Oklahoma.
The Trail BookMary Austin
When day broke they succeeded in wearing the ship with a remnant of the spritsail.
The Life of Horatio Lord NelsonRobert Southey
I said, holding up his wrist where the remnant of the cord was hanging.
Ranald Bannerman's BoyhoodGeorge MacDonald
We believe that, for many years, no remnant of it has existed in the United States.
The Origin of SpeciesThomas H. Huxley
In the forests the loggers were tearing and slashing into all but the remnant of the 96 timber.
Louisiana LouWilliam West Winter
remnant
- (often plural) a part left over after use, processing, etc
- a surviving trace or vestige, as of a former eraa remnant of imperialism
- a piece of material from the end of a roll, sold at a lower price
Show More
- remaining; left over
Show More
Word Origin
C14: from Old French remenant remaining, from remanoir to remain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for remnant
n.
late 14c., contraction of remenant (c.1300), from Old French remanant "rest, remainder, surplus," noun use of present participle of remanoir "to remain" (see remain (v.)). Specific sense of "end of a piece of drapery, cloth, etc." is recorded from early 15c. An Old English word for "remnant" was endlaf.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper