What does morsal mean?
A morsal is a small piece or bit of food, especially one taken from a larger serving. The word can also be used figuratively for a tiny amount of something: a speech may contain a morsel of wisdom, or an investigation may uncover not a morsel of evidence. Although the vocabulary site’s headword uses the spelling morsal, ordinary North American usage generally favors morsel. Morsal survives chiefly as a less common variant, with an old-fashioned or literary quality in current writing. In its literal sense, the word is especially associated with food, but its metaphorical use gives it a broader meaning: a fragment so small that it is almost negligible. It is therefore useful when precision about quantity matters or when the speaker wants to emphasize fragmentariness.
nounA small piece or bit of food; a morsel. The word may also refer metaphorically to a very small amount or portion of something.
- A small piece or bit of food.
- A very small amount or portion of something.
"She accepted a morsel of the cake, though she had already eaten a full meal."
"The children each took a morsel of bread before setting out."
"The investigation revealed not a morsel of reliable evidence."
The plural is rarely encountered because the standard modern spelling, morsel, is much more common.
"She left only a few morsals of bread on the plate."
One tiny bite can carry a feast's worth of flavor—and in older writing, even the word’s unusual spelling may be a morsel of English history.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of morsal
Morsal is a chiefly North American spelling variant of morsel. The standard spelling entered Middle English in the 14th century from Old French morsel, a diminutive of Latin morsellus, itself derived from morsus, “a bite,” the past participle of mordere, “to bite.” The word ultimately belongs to the same Latin root found in English derivatives such as mordant and mordent.
Related word forms
How morsal is actually used
Morsal is an uncommon chiefly North American spelling variant of the more familiar and preferred form morsel. It is occasionally used in literary or archaic contexts and is not normally found in formal modern prose.
Easily confused with morsal
Morsal and morsel have the same meaning, but morsel is the standard modern spelling, while morsal is a chiefly North American variant.