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Where does the word "particle" come from? It comes from Latin particula, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "particle" come from? It comes from Latin particula, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
Particle’s story begins in Latin: particula meant “a small part.” A diminutive of pars (part), literally a small part. It reached English by 1300s as particle. Settled as the English word for a minute portion of matter. Today, particle means a minute portion of matter, or a fundamental unit of physical substance.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient particula "a small part", a diminutive of pars (part), literally a small part.
- Stage 2 · English · 1300s particle "a minute portion of matter", settled as the English word for a minute portion of matter.