piecemeal
a little bit at a time
TRANSLATION
piecemeal = stückweise, allmählich --- GOOGLE INDEX piecemeal: approximately 4,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
There’s a strong case for common rules applying across the varied drilling operations around the country, rather than a PIECEMEAL approach.
(Washington Post)
---
Hallmark traits of the human body did not all arise anew in our species. Instead they emerged PIECEMEAL in our forebears over millions of years.
(Scientific American magazine)
(Washington Post)
---
Hallmark traits of the human body did not all arise anew in our species. Instead they emerged PIECEMEAL in our forebears over millions of years.
(Scientific American magazine)
Did you
know?
piecemeal
adverb
- a little bit at a time; not as a whole
(Cambridge Dictionary)
---
Piecemeal was originally (around 1300) two words: piece and meal. Piece, a fixed amount, measure or portion, is from the Old French "piece" (bit portion; item; coin) and ultimately from the Vulgar Latin "pettia."
Meal (food or time for eating) is probably from the Old English "mel" meaning an appointed time for eating or a feast. The Old English "mel or mæl " is from the Proto-Germanic "mæla" and is related to the German Mal (time) and Mahl (an occasion to eat, a meal).
The single word "piecemeal," which was formed around 1500, still uses meal in the original sense of time (as in a time for eating) and thus literally means a piece of time. The modern sense refers to doing something little by little instead of all at once. This often implies an unsystematic approach that ignores an overall goal, or as business managers like to say "the big picture."
---
SYNONYMS
bit-by-bit, by fits and starts, gradual, little-by-little, in small stages, step-by-step, stepwise
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"This is a very complex problem, we need to tackle it piecemeal."
adverb
- a little bit at a time; not as a whole
(Cambridge Dictionary)
---
Piecemeal was originally (around 1300) two words: piece and meal. Piece, a fixed amount, measure or portion, is from the Old French "piece" (bit portion; item; coin) and ultimately from the Vulgar Latin "pettia."
Meal (food or time for eating) is probably from the Old English "mel" meaning an appointed time for eating or a feast. The Old English "mel or mæl " is from the Proto-Germanic "mæla" and is related to the German Mal (time) and Mahl (an occasion to eat, a meal).
The single word "piecemeal," which was formed around 1500, still uses meal in the original sense of time (as in a time for eating) and thus literally means a piece of time. The modern sense refers to doing something little by little instead of all at once. This often implies an unsystematic approach that ignores an overall goal, or as business managers like to say "the big picture."
---
SYNONYMS
bit-by-bit, by fits and starts, gradual, little-by-little, in small stages, step-by-step, stepwise
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"This is a very complex problem, we need to tackle it piecemeal."
