I. ˈmȯrsəl, ˈmȯ(ə)s- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from mors bite (from Latin morsus, from morsus, past participle of mordēre to bite) + -el — more at smart
1.
a. : a small piece or quantity of food : bite
the multitude was kept quiet by the morsels of meat which were flung to it — J.A.Froude
deftly ladled a spoonful of this and a morsel of that into the … skillet — Elinor Wylie
a bitter morsel to swallow
b. : a small meal : snack
came home, ate his morsel quickly, and left
2. : a small quantity of something : a little piece or portion : fragment
that morsel of information lay dormant for over a hundred years — C.C.Furnas
his last remaining morsel of self-respect
a tiny morsel of land lost in the ocean
3.
a. : a tasty dish : tidbit
such exotic morsels as Japanese frog legs, Alaskan king crabs, Indian pompano — Time
sitting apart munching his own delectable morsels — C.S.Kilby
b. : something delectable and pleasing
the girl … is young and very pretty … a morsel worth a little lordly condescension — Eric Blom
his shorter piano pieces include some choice morsels
4. : a small or negligible person
this ancient morsel — Shakespeare
II. transitive verb
( morseled or morselled ; morseled or morselled ; morseling or morselling ; morsels )
: to divide into or apportion in small pieces