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Vinony

morsel

noun

  1. small piece, usually of food
L324167 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈmɔːsəl/ / /ˈmɔɹsəl/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English morsel, from Old French morsel, from Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, perfect passive participle of mordeo (“to bite”). Compare French morceau, whence the English doublet morceau.

  1. A small fragment or share of something, commonly applied to food.

    “By sticking out his tongue and curling it sideways to explore the hairy jungle around his mouth, he was always able to find a tasty morsel here and there to nibble on.”

    “If a morsel of food fell off your plate, the advice of one contemporary document was to pick it up, make the sign of the cross over it, season it well - and then eat it.”

  2. A mouthful of food.

    “Me thinks I ſee the Turke nodding vvith his Turban, and telling me that I ſhould thanke Heaven for that diſtance vvhich is betvvixt us, els he vvould ſvvallovv me all up at one morſell; […]”

  3. A very small amount.

    “Didn't even a morsel of decency remain in his brother?”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English morsel, from Old French morsel, from Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, perfect passive participle of mordeo (“to bite”). Compare French morceau, whence the English doublet morceau.

  1. To divide into small pieces.
  2. To feed with small pieces of food.