particle

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*perh₃-
2. Proto-Indo-European*pérh₃tis?
3. Proto-Italic*partis
4. Latinpars
5. Latinparticula
6. Middle Frenchparticule
7. English todayparticle

From Middle French particule, and its source, Latin particula (“small part, particle”), diminutive of pars (“part, piece”). Semantically displaced native Old English grot whence modern English groat.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 14th c. A very small piece of matter, a fragment; especially, the smallest possible part of something.
• from 19th c. Any of various physical objects making up the constituent parts of an atom; an elementary particle or subatomic particle.