morceau

M3O1R1C3E1A1U1
/ˈmɔː(ɹ)səʊ//mɔː(ɹ)ˈsəʊ/

noun

A small bit; a morsel or snippet.

Similar
modicum
OriginFrench morceau ← Old French morsel ← Medieval Latin morsellum →
UncommonScrabble 11
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Meanings

nounmorceau (plural morceaus or morceaux)

plural morceaus · plural morceaux

  1. A small bit; a morsel or snippet.

    M. De Luc has a specimen of the uranite (Peckblend) mixed with titan and crystals of quartz, a morceau of singular beauty

    1816, Henry Coxe, The Traveller's Guide in Switzerland
    1 more example

    Amongſt a variety of urns, sepulchral fragments, and different morceaus of antiquity, are the known and celebrated buſts of Alexander the Great, and Brutus

    1796, John Owen, Travels Into Different Parts of Europe […]

    Synonyms: modicum

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA small bit; a morsel or snippet.

Similar
modicum

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)merd-“to rub, wipe; to pack, rob”
  2. Latinmorsum“a bit”
  3. Medieval Latinmorsellum“a bit, a little piece”
  4. Old Frenchmorsel
  5. Frenchmorceau
  6. Englishmorceau

From French morceau, from Old French morsel, from Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, past participle of mordeō, mordēre (“bite, nibble, gnaw”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to rub, wipe; to pack, rob”). Doublet of morsel.

More words from French, Old French, Medieval Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

morceau. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/morceau

MLA

“morceau.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/morceau. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “morceau,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/morceau.

Source: morceau on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.