piecemeal
English
WOTD – 26 December 2007
Etymology
From Middle English pecemele, from pece (“piece”) + mele (from Old English mǣlum (“at a time”), dative plural form of mǣl (“time, measure”)), taking the place of Old English styċċemǣlum (“in pieces, bit by bit, piecemeal; to pieces, to bits; here and there, in different places; little by little, by degrees, gradually”); equivalent to piece + -meal.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈpiːs.miːl/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
Adjective
piecemeal (not comparable)
- Made or done in pieces or one stage at a time.
- 1947 - George Marshall, The Marshall Plan Speech
- Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis, as various crises develop.
- 1953, James Strachey, translation of Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Avon Books, pg. 224:
- But the copious and intertwined associative links warrant our accepting the former alternative: cyclamen—favourite flower—favourite food— artichokes; pulling to pieces like an artichoke, leaf by leaf (a phrase constantly ringing in our ears in relation to the piecemeal dismemberment of the Chinese Empire)—herbarium—bookworms, whose favourite food is books.
- 1947 - George Marshall, The Marshall Plan Speech
Usage notes
Nouns to which "piecemeal" is often applied: fashion, approach, basis, way, change, reform, measure.
Quotations
- For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:piecemeal.
Synonyms
- stepwise; see also Thesaurus:gradual
Derived terms
- piecemeal approach
Translations
Made or done in pieces or one stage at a time
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Adverb
piecemeal (not comparable)
- Piece by piece; in small amounts, stages, or degrees.
- 1914 - Saki, The Forbidden Buzzards
- It’s as bad as selling a man a horse with half a dozen latent vices and watching him discover them piecemeal in the course of the hunting season.
- 1914 - Saki, The Forbidden Buzzards
- Into pieces or parts.
- 1888 - The Whitehall Murder, Daily Telegraph (London), October 03
- A few years ago also there was the case of Kate Webster, who at Richmond murdered her mistress, and, fiend-like, cut the body up piecemeal, and tried to dispose of it in various ways by small portions.
- 1888 - The Whitehall Murder, Daily Telegraph (London), October 03
Quotations
- For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:piecemeal.
Synonyms
- (piece by piece): little by little, bit by bit; see also Thesaurus:incrementally
- (into pieces or parts): apart; see also Thesaurus:asunder
Translations
piece by piece
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Verb
piecemeal (third-person singular simple present piecemeals, present participle piecemealing, simple past and past participle piecemealed)
- (transitive) To divide or distribute piecemeal; dismember.
Synonyms
- apportion, mete out, parcel out; see also Thesaurus:divide or Thesaurus:distribute
Derived terms
Noun
piecemeal (plural piecemeals)
Synonyms
- bit, lump, portion; see also Thesaurus:piece
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