particle
/ˈpɑɹtək(ə)l/ noun B2- A very small piece of matter, a fragment; especially, the smallest possible part of something.
- Any of various physical objects making up the constituent parts of an atom; an elementary particle or subatomic particle.
- A part of speech that has no inherent lexical definition but must be associated with another word to impart meaning, often a grammatical category: for example, the English word to in a full infinitive phrase (to eat) or O in a vocative phrase (O Canada), or as a discourse marker (mmm).
- A part of speech which cannot be inflected.
- In the Roman Catholic church, a crumb of consecrated bread; also the smaller breads used in the communion of the laity.
- A little bit.
Plural particles
From the library
Spencer, bustling her guests through the hall into the parlor, where a deadly chill struck on them as if the air had been strained so long through dark green, closely drawn blinds that it had lost every particle of warmth it had ever possessed.
I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed alternative theories, balanced one against the other, and made up his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial.
Perhaps the most recognizable feature of this vernacular is its extensive use of pragmatic particles, particularly the ubiquitous“lah.”
A simple phrase can be transformed entirely by appending a particle, allowing locals to express complex emotional undertones with astonishing brevity.
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