remnant

[rem-nuhnt]

noun

1. a remaining, usually small part, quantity, number, or the like.

   Synonyms: remains, rest, residuum, residue, remainder

2. a fragment or scrap.

3. a small, unsold or unused piece of cloth, lace, etc., as at the end of a bolt.

4. a trace; vestige.

   remnants of former greatness.

adjective

1. remaining; leftover.

remnant

/ ˈrɛmnənt /

noun

1. (often plural) a part left over after use, processing, etc

2. a surviving trace or vestige, as of a former era

   a remnant of imperialism

3. a piece of material from the end of a roll, sold at a lower price

adjective

1. remaining; left over

Other Word Forms

• remnantal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of remnant¹

1300–50; Middle English remna ( u ) nt, contraction of remenant < Old French, present participle of remenoir to remain

Word History and Origins

Origin of remnant¹

C14: from Old French remenant remaining, from remanoir to _remain

Example Sentences

Since the project’s first album in 2007, he has been unearthing abandoned remnants of music history and rewiring them for our fragmented present.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They lay on the ocean floor, still stacked as they had been in the ship’s hull, and next to them lay the remnants of tin ingots.

Read more on Literature

This resolves a long-standing tension in cosmic ray research: while supernova remnants are known to produce cosmic rays, both data and theory suggest they cannot account for the energies seen at and above the "knee."

Read more on Science Daily

When he stumbles upon the hut of a shepherd who flees at the sight of him, he “greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd’s breakfast, which consisted of bread, cheese, milk and wine.”

Read more on Salon

The remnants of Purdue will become Knoa Pharma, a company owned by a foundation, that will provide opioid use disorder treatments and overdose reversal medicines, "with no obligation to maximize profits," the company said.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• bit 
• fragment 
• particle 
• piece 
• remains 
• residue 
• shred 
• vestige