Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of 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. Bring it out piece by piece. --Ezek. xxiv. 6. 2. A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper. 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. 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. Thy mother was a piece of virtue. --Shak. His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world. --Coleridge. 5. (Chess) One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn. 6. A castle; a fortified building. [Obs.] --Spenser. {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.
\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. 2. To unite; to join; to combine. --Fuller. His adversaries . . . pieced themselves together in a joint opposition against him. --Fuller.
\Piece\, v. i. To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join. ``It pieced better.'' --Bacon.