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piece

Pronunciation: /piːs/

The English word “piece” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
  2. A single item belonging to a class of similar items.
  3. One of the figures used in playing chess, specifically a higher-value figure as distinguished from a pawn; (by extension) those with which draughts, backgammon, and other similar board games are played.
  4. A coin, especially one valued at less than the principal unit of currency.
  5. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, musical composition, literary work, etc.
  6. An article published in the press.
  7. An artillery gun.
  8. A gun.
  9. A toupee or wig, especially when worn by a man.
  10. A slice or other quantity of bread, eaten on its own; a sandwich or light snack.
  11. A sexual encounter; from piece of ass or piece of tail.
  12. A shoddy or worthless object (usually applied to consumer products like vehicles or appliances).
  13. A cannabis pipe.
  14. Used to describe a pitch that has been hit but not well, usually either being caught by the opposing team or going foul. Usually used in the past tense with get.
  15. An individual; a person.
  16. A castle; a fortified building.
  17. A pacifier; a dummy.
  18. A distance or amount.
  19. A structured practice row, often used for performance evaluation.
  20. An amount of work to be done at one time; a unit of piece work.

Etymology

From Middle English pece, peece, peice, from Old French piece, from Late Latin pecia, petia (“broken piece, fragment; parcel of land”), of uncertain origin. Possibly ultimately from Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (“piece, portion, quota”). Compare Welsh peth (“thing, stuff, junk”), Breton pez (“thing”), Irish cuid (“part, portion”). Compare French pièce, Portuguese peça, Spanish…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.