piece
Pronunciation: /piːs/
The English word “piece” has 20 meanings listed here.
noun
- A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
- A single item belonging to a class of similar items.
- 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.
- A coin, especially one valued at less than the principal unit of currency.
- An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, musical composition, literary work, etc.
- An article published in the press.
- An artillery gun.
- A gun.
- A toupee or wig, especially when worn by a man.
- A slice or other quantity of bread, eaten on its own; a sandwich or light snack.
- A sexual encounter; from piece of ass or piece of tail.
- A shoddy or worthless object (usually applied to consumer products like vehicles or appliances).
- A cannabis pipe.
- 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.
- An individual; a person.
- A castle; a fortified building.
- A pacifier; a dummy.
- A distance or amount.
- A structured practice row, often used for performance evaluation.
- 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.