■ noun
1》 a piece or segment of something which combined with others makes up the whole.
↘a component of a machine: aircraft ~s.
↘a division of a book, periodical, or broadcast serial.
↘a measure allowing comparison between the amounts of different ingredients used in a mixture: one ~ cement to five ~s ballast.
2》 some but not all of something.
↘( ~s ) informal a region, especially one not clearly specified or delimited: jetting off to foreign ~s.
3》 a role played by an actor or actress.
↘ Music a melody or other constituent of harmony assigned to a ~icular voice or instrument.
4》 the contribution made by someone to an action or situation.
5》 ( ~s ) archaic abilities.
6》 N. Amer. a ~ing in the hair.
■ verb
1》 move a~ or divide to leave a central space.
2》 (also be ~ed ) leave someone's company.
3》 ( ~ with ) give up possession of; hand over.
4》 separate (the hair on either side of a ~ing) with a combining
■ adverb ~ly (often used to contrast different ~s of something): ~ jazz, ~ blues.
Phrases
be ~ and parcel of be an essential element of. [ parcel here is in the archaic sense '~, portion'.]
for my (or his , her , etc.) ~ as far as I am (or he, she, etc. is) concerned.
in ~ to some extent though not entirely.
look the ~ have an appearance or style of dress appropriate to a ~icular role or situation.
a man of ( many ) ~s a man showing great ability in many different areas.
on the ~ of (or on my , their , etc. ~ ) used to ascribe responsibility for something to someone.
~ company cease to be together; go in different directions.
take ~ join in or be involved in an activity.
take the ~ of give support and encouragement to (someone) in a dispute.
Derivatives
-~er noun
Origin
OE (denoting a ~ of speech), from L. pars , ~- ; the verb is from OFr. ~ir , from L. ~ire , ~iri 'divide, share'.