From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
piece
n 1: a separate part of a whole; "an important piece of the
evidence"
2: an item that is an instance of some type; "he designed a new
piece of equipment"; "she bought a lovely piece of china";
3: a portion of a natural object; "they analyzed the river into
three parts"; "he needed a piece of granite" [syn: part,
piece]
4: a musical work that has been created; "the composition is
written in four movements" [syn: musical composition,
opus, composition, piece, piece of music]
5: an instance of some kind; "it was a nice piece of work"; "he
had a bit of good luck" [syn: piece, bit]
6: an artistic or literary composition; "he wrote an interesting
piece on Iran"; "the children acted out a comic piece to
amuse the guests"
7: a portable gun; "he wore his firearm in a shoulder holster"
[syn: firearm, piece, small-arm]
8: a serving that has been cut from a larger portion; "a piece
of pie"; "a slice of bread" [syn: piece, slice]
9: a distance; "it is down the road a piece"
10: a work of art of some artistic value; "this store sells only
objets d'art"; "it is not known who created this piece"
[syn: objet d'art, art object, piece]
11: a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by
some action or condition; "he was here for a little while";
"I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good weather"; "a
patch of bad weather" [syn: while, piece, spell,
patch]
12: a share of something; "a slice of the company's revenue"
[syn: slice, piece]
13: game equipment consisting of an object used in playing
certain board games; "he taught me to set up the men on the
chess board"; "he sacrificed a piece to get a strategic
advantage" [syn: man, piece]
v 1: to join or unite the pieces of; "patch the skirt" [syn:
patch, piece]
2: create by putting components or members together; "She pieced
a quilt"; "He tacked together some verses"; "They set up a
committee" [syn: assemble, piece, put together, {set
up}, tack, tack together] [ant: break apart, {break
up}, disassemble, dismantle, take apart]
3: join during spinning; "piece the broken pieces of thread,
slivers, and rovings"
4: eat intermittently; take small bites of; "He pieced at the
sandwich all morning"; "She never eats a full meal--she just
nibbles" [syn: nibble, pick, piece]
5: repair by adding pieces; "She pieced the china cup" [syn:
piece, patch]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Piece \Piece\, n. [OE. pece, F. pi[`e]ce, LL. pecia, petia,
petium, probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. peth a thing, a
part, portion, a little, Armor. pez, Gael. & Ir. cuid part,
share. Cf. Petty.]
1. A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole,
in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or
tearing; a part; a portion; as, a piece of sugar; to break
in pieces.
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Bring it out piece by piece. --Ezek. xxiv.
6.
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2. A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a
piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper.
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3. Any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of
the same kind; an individual article; a distinct single
effort of a series; a definite performance; especially:
(a) A literary or artistic composition; as, a piece of
poetry, music, or statuary.
(b) A musket, gun, or cannon; as, a battery of six pieces;
a following piece.
(c) A coin; as, a sixpenny piece; -- formerly applied
specifically to an English gold coin worth 22
shillings.
(d) A fact; an item; as, a piece of news; a piece of
knowledge.
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4. An individual; -- applied to a person as being of a
certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used
slightingly or in contempt. "If I had not been a piece of
a logician before I came to him." --Sir P. Sidney.
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Thy mother was a piece of virtue. --Shak.
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His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is
in all the world. --Coleridge.
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5. (Chess) One of the superior men, distinguished from a
pawn.
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6. A castle; a fortified building. [Obs.] --Spenser.
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Of a piece, of the same sort, as if taken from the same
whole; like; -- sometimes followed by with. --Dryden.
Piece of eight, the Spanish piaster, formerly divided into
eight reals.
To give a piece of one's mind to, to speak plainly,
bluntly, or severely to (another). --Thackeray.
Piece broker, one who buys shreds and remnants of cloth to
sell again.
Piece goods, goods usually sold by pieces or fixed
portions, as shirtings, calicoes, sheetings, and the like.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Piece \Piece\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pieced; p. pr. & vb. n.
Piecing.]
1. To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or
pieces; to patch; as, to piece a garment; -- often with
out. --Shak.
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2. To unite; to join; to combine. --Fuller.
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His adversaries . . . pieced themselves together in
a joint opposition against him. --Fuller.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Piece \Piece\, v. i.
To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join.
"It pieced better." --Bacon.
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