Piece (?), n. [OE. pece, F. piËce, LL. pecia, petia, petium, probably
of Celtic origin; cf. W. peth a thing, a part, portion, a little,
Armor. pez, Gael. & Ir. cuid part, share. Cf. Petty.] 1. A fragment or
part of anything separated from the whole, in any manner, as by
cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a portion; as, a
piece of sugar; to break in pieces.
Bring it out piece by piece.
Ezek. xxiv. 6.
2. A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a piece of
broadcloth; a piece of wall paper.
3. Any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of the same
kind; an individual article; a distinct single effort of a series; a
definite performance; especially: (a) A literary or artistic
composition; as, a piece of poetry, music, or statuary. (b) A musket,
gun, or cannon; as, a battery of six pieces; a following piece. (c) A
coin; as, a sixpenny piece; -- formerly applied specifically to an
English gold coin worth 22 shillings. (d) A fact; an item; as, a piece
of news; a piece of knowledge.
4. An individual; -- applied to a person as being of a certain nature
or quality; often, but not always, used slightingly or in contempt. "If
I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him." Sir P.
Sidney.
Thy mother was a piece of virtue.
Shak.
His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the
world.
Coleridge.