particle

Definitions

From Latin particula, the diminutive of pars ('part') — literally 'a little part.' A particle is the smallest piece you can break a whole into, which is why physics borrowed it for the tiniest units of matter, and grammar for the tiny words (up, off, to) that carry function but little meaning.

Why It Means This

particle and particular are twins from particula ('little part'). Particle stayed physical (a tiny piece); particular went figurative (focused on one small piece → specific). Knowing 'little part' makes all three uses click: dust particle, subatomic particle, grammatical particle — each is a 'small piece' of its system.

Common Collocations

• 1.dust particles尘埃颗粒
• 2.subatomic particle亚原子粒子
• 3.fine particles细微颗粒
• 4.particle physics粒子物理学

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Tiny particles of dust floated in the sunlight.

• 2.

  Physicists smash particles together at near light speed.

• 3.

  In 'look up', 'up' is a grammatical particle.