Morsels

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Small, manageable bites of food that can be easily consumed at one time
2. Bit-sized fragments of edible substances suitable for quick eating
3. Tiny portions of nourishment that can be consumed in a single mouthful

Etymology: "Morsels" is the plural of "morsel", and the singular carries its bite in its very make-up: it descends from the Latin verb "mordeo", "to bite". Its ancestor was the neuter noun "morsum", "a bit", formed from "morsus", the past participle of that verb, so a morsel was literally a piece that had been bitten off. The word passed through Old French, where it took the shape "morsel", before arriving in Middle English. Medieval Latin added a diminutive ending, "morsellum", meaning "a little piece", and it is this smaller form that French and English inherited. The French cousin "morceau", meaning a piece of food or a piece of music or writing, is a doublet of the English word: two forms from the same source that entered the language by different routes and took on separate lives.

Synonyms: bits, pieces, nibbles, snacks, fragments

Antonyms: whole, entirety, mass, bulk, aggregate