scintilla

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

scintilla
    n 1: a tiny or scarcely detectable amount [syn: {shred},
         {scintilla}, {whit}, {iota}, {tittle}, {smidgen},
         {smidgeon}, {smidgin}, {smidge}]
    2: a sparkling glittering particle

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Scintilla \Scin*til"la\, n. [L.]
   A spark; the least particle; an iota; a tittle. --R. North.
   [1913 Webster]

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

46 Moby Thesaurus words for "scintilla":
      blink, blinking, cast, coruscation, dash, firefly, gleam, glimmer,
      glimmering, glisten, glister, glitter, glittering, glowworm, hint,
      idea, intimation, lick, look, scintillation, shade, shadow,
      shimmer, shimmering, sip, smack, smattering, smell, soupcon,
      spangle, spark, sparkle, sprinkling, stroboscopic light,
      suggestion, sup, suspicion, taste, thought, tincture, tinge,
      tinsel, touch, trace, twinkle, twinkling