piecemeal

Meaning

Adj

Made or done in pieces or one stage at a time.

Adv

1. (not-comparable) Piece by piece; in small amounts, stages, or degrees.
2. (not-comparable) Into pieces or parts.

Verb

To divide or distribute piecemeal; dismember.

Noun

A fragment; a scrap.

Synonyms

gradually

little by little

bit by bit

piece by piece

fragmentary

in small stages

stepwise

bit-by-bit

step-by-step

step by step

in stages

gradual

retail

scrappy

shatter

shatteringly

smash

trifling

trivial

various

in pieces

small and varied

foot by foot

apart

parcelwise

at a time

bit

crush

fragmented

gentle

gently

inchmeal

in parts

partial

point-to-point

pointwise

Translations

stückweise

frammentario

pouco a pouco

deslavazado

scheibchenweise

fragmentado

peu à peu

häppchenweise

sukzessiv

in Portiönchen

in Einzelteile

κομματιαστός

διασκορπισμένος

einzeln

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpiːs.miːl/

Etymology

Cognate with Old English: styċċemǣlum

In summary

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.