remnant
A small portion remaining of a larger thing or group; part of a former whole.
Example
“The remnants of the Neanderthal race mixed with members of Homo sapiens.”
Other meanings
The remaining fabric at the end of the bolt.
“Usually not enough to make an entire project by itself, remnants of several fabrics can be used to make quilts.”
An unsold end of piece goods, as cloth, ribbons, carpets, etc.
“All the remnants were sold in the flea market.”
Synonyms
- leftover
Related words
- nova remnant
- remnantal
- supernova remnant
Word history
From Latin "remaneō".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “remnant” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.