particle
Abbr. part.
1.
2.
3.
4. Grammar & Linguistics. a. An uninflected item that has grammatical function but does not clearly belong to one of the major parts of speech, such as up in look up or to in English infinitives. b. In some systems of grammatical analysis, any short function word, including articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
5. Roman Catholic Church. a. A small piece of a consecrated host. b. One of the smaller, individual hosts.
6. Archaic. A small division or section of something written, such as a clause of a document.
[Middle English, from Latin particula, diminutive of pars, part-, part. See