piece

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 493 words | Copyright

piece
A. separate or detached portion XIII; (dial.) protion of time or space; quantity (of matter of substance) XIV;

B. section or armour, etc. XIV; fire-arm; coin XVI; ‘man’ in a game XVI;

C. person XIII. — ME. pece, later piece — AN. pece, OF. piece (mod. pièce):- Rom. *pettia (cf. medL. petia, pecia, pet(t)ium), prob. of Gaulish orig. (cf. W. peth quantity, part. Breton pezh piece:- Brythonic *petti-).
Hence piece vb. XIV. piecemeal piece by piece XIII.

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T. F. HOAD. "piece." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "piece." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-piece.html

T. F. HOAD. "piece." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-piece.html

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