from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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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