remnant

[ rem-nuhnt ]

noun

1. a remaining, usually small part, quantity, number, or the like.

   Synonyms: remains, rest, residuum, residue, remainder

2. a fragment or scrap.
3. a small, unsold or unused piece of cloth, lace, etc., as at the end of a bolt.
4. a trace; vestige:

   remnants of former greatness.

adjective

1. remaining; leftover.

remnant

/ ˈrɛmnənt /

noun

1. often plural a part left over after use, processing, etc
2. a surviving trace or vestige, as of a former era

   a remnant of imperialism

3. a piece of material from the end of a roll, sold at a lower price

adjective

1. remaining; left over

Other Words From

• remnant·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of remnant¹

1300–50; Middle English remna ( u ) nt, contraction of remenant < Old French, present participle of remenoir to remain

Word History and Origins

Origin of remnant¹

C14: from Old French remenant remaining, from remanoir to remain

Example Sentences

David Vine, author of Island of Shame: The Secret History of the US Military Base on Diego Garcia, describes them as a “ghostly remnant of the society that had been there for almost 200 years”.

From BBC

The SLA essentially ended that day, Harris said, though its remnant survivors remained on the run and desperate for cash.

From Los Angeles Times

Lead pollution can come from aging water pipes, old paint, and remnant gasoline and industrial pollution, but today, most lead exposure are from contaminated soils and dust, even after lead-containing infrastructure was removed.

From Science Daily

Sand grains in a second remnant channel 85 kilometers downstream also dated back 2500 years.

From Science Magazine

What remains is a stellar remnant called a neutron star, made up of trillions of neutrons packed into a ball so dense that its mass is 1.4 times that of the Sun is packed into a radius of just 10km.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• bit
• fragment
• particle
• piece
• remains
• residue
• shred
• vestige