Wiktionary

morceau

English

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Etymology

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From French morceau, from Old French morsel, from Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, past participle of mordeō, mordēre (“bite, nibble, gnaw”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to rub, wipe; to pack, rob”). Doublet of morsel.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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morceau (plural morceaus or morceaux)

  1. A small bit; a morsel or snippet.
    • 1816, Henry Coxe, The Traveller's Guide in Switzerland:
      M. De Luc has a specimen of the uranite (Peckblend) mixed with titan and crystals of quartz, a morceau of singular beauty
    • 1796, John Owen, Travels Into Different Parts of Europe […] :
      Amongſt a variety of urns, sepulchral fragments, and different morceaus of antiquity, are the known and celebrated buſts of Alexander the Great, and Brutus

Synonyms

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References

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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French morceau, from Old French morsel (whence also English morsel), from Early Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, past participle of mordeō, mordēre (“bite, nibble, gnaw”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to rub, wipe; to pack, rob”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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morceau m (plural morceaux)

  1. piece, slice, bit, morsel
  2. (music) piece, work
    manger le morceau ― to fess up, spill the beans
  3. (Quebec, slang) gun, piece

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → English: morceau

Further reading

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Middle French

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Etymology

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From Old French morsel.

Noun

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morceau m (plural morceaux or morceaulx)

  1. bit; piece

Descendants

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