participle 
The participles or conflners between plants and living 
creatures are such chiefly as are fixed, . . . though they 
have a motion in their parts ; such as are oysters, cockles, 
and such like. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 609. 
And in the mountaines dwelt the Curdi, that were Par- 
ticiples or Mungrels in Religion. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 78. 
2. In gram., a verbal adjective that participates 
or shares in the construction of the verb to 
which it belongs, and so has in a certain man- 
ner and degree a place in the verbal system ; a 
word having the value of an adjective as part 
of speech, but so regularly made from a verb, 
and associated with it in meaning and construc- 
are but two simple participles in English, usually called 
the present and the past or passive : as, loving, loved; tang- 
ing, sung; in some languages there are more, as for exam- 
ple in Greek. The division-line between participle and 
ordinary adjective is indistinct, and the one often passes 
over into the other : thus, a charming girl, a learned man. 
Participles are much used in many languages, especially in 
English, in forming verb-phrases by combination with aux- 
iliaries : thus, I am giving, I have given, it is given, etc. 
particle (piir'ti-kl), . [< F.particule = Sp. par- 
ticula = Pg. particula = It. particola, particel- 
la, particula, < L. particula, double dim. of pars 
(part-), a part: see part. Ct. parcel, ult. from 
the same source.] 1. A small part or piece, 
especially a small part or portion of some ma- 
terial substance : as, a particle of dust. 
God created every part and particle of man exactly per- 
fect that is to gay, in all points sufficient unto that use for 
which he appointed it. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, ii. 8. 
Which seems to be some featherly particle of snow. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., ii. 1. 
I am part or particle of God. Emerson, Misc., p. 17. 
2. Specifically, any very small piece or part 
of anything; absolutely, a minute quantity; 
anything very small; an atom; a bit: as, he 
has not & particle of patriotism or virtue; are 
you fatigued? Not & particle. 
If the maker have failed in any particle of this, they may 
worthily tax him. 
B. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, iii. 1. 
What could be done more for the healing and reclaiming 
that divine particle of Gods breathing, the soul? 
Milton, Church-Government, ii. 3. 
3. In gram., apart of speech that is considered 
of minor consequence, or that plays a subordi- 
nate part in the structure of the sentence, as 
connective, sign of relation, or the like: such 
are especially conjunctions, prepositions, and 
the primitive adverbs. The term is loose and 
unscientific. 
The words whereby it [the mind] signifies what connex- 
ion it gives to the several affirmations and negations that 
it unites in one continued reasoning ... are ... called 
particles. Locke, Human Understanding, III. vii. 2. 
They make use of an emphasis, but so improperly that 
it is often placed on some very insignificant particle, as 
upon "if" or "and." Steele, Spectator, No. 147. 
Consecutive, exceptive, etc. , particle. See the adjec- 
tives. Elementary particles of Zlmmermann. See 
blood-plate. = Syn. 1 and 2. Particle, Atom, Molecule, Cor- 
puscle, iota, jot, mite, tittle, whit, grain, scrap, shred, scin- 
tilla. Atom and molecule are exact scientific terms ; the 
other two of the italicized words are not. A particle is 
primarily a minute part or piece of a material substance, 
or, as in the case of dust, pollen, etc., a substance that ex- 
ists in exceedingly minute form. Corpuscle is a somewhat 
old word for particle, to which it has almost entirely yield- 
ed place, taking up instead a special meaning in physiol- 
ogy. See definitions ; see also part, n. 
parti-coated, a. See party-coated. 
parti-color, n. See party-color. 
parti-colored, a. See party-colored. 
particular (par-tik'u-lar), a. and n. [< ME. 
particuler, < OF. particulier, particuler, F. par- 
ticulier = Sp. Pg. particular = It. particolare, 
particulare, < LL. particularis, of or concerning 
a part, particular, < L. particula, a part, parti- 
cle: eee particle.} I. a. 1. Of or concerning a 
part ; pertaining to some and not to all ; special ; 
not general. 
The three years' drought, in the time of Ellas, was but 
particular, and left people alive. 
Bacon, Vicissitudes of Things (ed. 1887). 
Our ancestors . . . took their stand, not on a general 
theory, but on the particular constitution of the realm. 
Macanlay, Sir James Mackintosh. 
The Revolution assails not theology itself but only a par- 
ticular theology embodied in a particular institution. 
.'. R. Seeley, Nat Religion, p. 36. 
2. Individual; single; special; apart from oth- 
ers ; considered separately. 
Make . . . each particular hair to stand an end. 
Shak., Hamlet, i. 6. 18. 
You know in what particular way your powers of mind 
best capacitate you for excelling. Goldsmith, To a Pupil. 
It is the universal nature which gives worth to particu- 
lar men and things. Emerson, History. 
4306 
3. Properly belonging to a single person, place, 
or thing; peculiar; specially characteristic: 
as, the particular properties of a plant. 
As for the Ichneumon, he hath but onely changed his 
name now called the Rat of the Nilus. A beast particu- 
lar to Egypt. Sandys, TravaUes, p. 79. 
It was the particular property of this looking-glass to 
banish all false appearances, and show people what they 
were Addison, Vision of Justice. 
Hence 4. Personal; private; individual. 
These domestic and particular broils 
Are not the question here. Shale., Lear, v. 1. 30. 
Revenge 
Thine own particular wrongs, and stop those maims 
Of shame seen through thy country. 
Shak., Cor., iv. 5. 92. 
Augustus began his career by joining with Antony and 
Lepidus in a plot for dividing the supreme power, by al- 
lowing to be murdered each his own particular friends, 
in order to destroy his enemies, the friends of his vile con- 
federates. Brougham. 
5. Having something that eminently distin- 
guishes ; worthy of attention and regard ; spe- 
cially noteworthy; not ordinary; unusual; 
notable; striking. 
Particular pains particular thanks do ask. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, v. 8. 
At the east end [of the cathedral] are the remains of the 
bishop's throne, and in the portico there is a very particu- 
lar vase, which probably served for a font. 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. i. 247. 
I think I never heard a more particular instance of parts 
and villainy. Walpole, Letters, II. 17. 
He was a sturdy old fellow in a broad-skirted blue coat, 
made pretty large, to fit easily, and with no particular 
waist Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, xxxv. 
6. Attentive to or noting details; minute in 
examination; careful. 
I have been particular in examining the reason- of chil- 
dren's inheriting the property of their fathers, ... be- 
cause it will give us farther light in the inheritance of 
rule and power. Locke, Government, i. 91. 
7. Containing or emphasizing details; minute; 
circumstantial; detailed: as, a full and par- 
ticular account of an accident. 
This [Ponte di Rialto] is both forty foote longer . . . and 
a hundred foote broader, as I will anon declare in the more 
particular description thereof. Caryat, Crudities, I. 208. 
8. Peculiar; singular; standing out from what 
is general or ordinary, especially in the way of 
showing pointed personal attention. 
As for Plutarch, his style is so particular that there is 
none of the ancients to whom we can properly resemble 
him. Dryden, Plutarch. 
I saw in the church-yard of Bolsena an antique funeral 
monument (of that kind which they called a sarcophagus), 
very entire, and, what is particular, engraven on all sides 
with a curious representation of a bacchanal. 
Addison, Remarks on Italy (ed. BohnX I. 488. 
Shell be highly taken with him for she loves a Gen- 
tleman whose Manner is particular. 
Steele, Tender Husband, i. 1. 
Lady Ruelle . . . had been something particular, as I 
fancied, in her behaviour to me. 
B. Grates, Spiritual Quixote, Till 14. 
9. Nice in taste ; precise ; fastidious : as, a 
man very particular in his diet or dress. 
A very worthy person, a little formal and particular, but 
exceedingly devoute. Evelyn, Diary, Oct 24, 1686. 
Timoleon ... is very particular in his opinion, but is 
thought particular for no other cause but that he acts 
against depraved custom by the rules of nature and rea- 
son. Steele, Tatler, No. 171. 
10. In logic, not general; not referring to the 
whole extent of a class, but only to some indi- 
vidual or individuals in it Common particular 
meter, long particular meter. See mete?*, 3. Lon- 
don particular, of a quality or character supposed to be 
approved by Londoners or peculiar to London, by importa- 
tion or otherwise : noting especially a quality of Madeira 
wine as imported for the London market Particular 
average, in marine insurance, a contribution which must 
be made by the underwriters in case of partial loss (which 
see, under partial) by perils of the sea. The loss is esti- 
mated by deducting from the market-value of the dam- 
aged property, when sound, its sale-value as injured. See 
average*, 1. Particular Baptists. See Baptist.- Par- 
ticular cause, a cause which of its own efficiency pro- 
duces but one effect. Particular cognition, a cognition 
of an actual fact or existence, not of a rule or non-existence. 
Particular custom, a custom which prevails only in a 
particular locality or district ; a local usage. Sometimes 
used also of a custom which prevails only in a particular 
class or vocation. Particular equation. See equation. 
Particular estate, in law, the estate that precedes a 
remainder ; the earlier of two successive estates where the 
future or ultimate ownership is given to one, the gift to 
whom is not to take effect until after a precedent estate 
given to another has terminated : thus, where a man de- 
vises lands to his wife for her life, and after her death to 
his children, her estate is called the particular estate, in 
contradistinction to the general ultimate ownership of the 
children. Particular Integral, In the integral calculus, 
that value which arises in the integration of any differen- 
tial equation by the giving of a particular value to the ar- 
bitrary quantity or quantities that enter into the general 
integral. Particular jurisprudence logic, etc. See 
the nouns Particular lien. See lien?, 1. Particular 
particularism 
method. See universal method, under method. Partic- 
ular proposition, a proposition in which the subject is 
qualified by the word some or its equivalent. The peculi- 
arity of the particular proposition is that it asserts the 
existence of a certain kind of thing, while a universal 
proposition asserts the non-existence of a certain kind of 
thing. Thus, the proposition " Some men are courteous 
to all women" is particular, being intended to state the 
existence of a certain kind of men ; while the proposition 
" There is some man who is courteous to each woman " is 
universal, because it only states the non-existence of a 
woman to whom no man is courteous. It is true, the lat- 
ter proposition may be understood as also asserting the 
existence of men courteous to women, and in that case 
it implies a particular proposition along with its main 
import. Particular tenant, the tenant of a particular 
estate. Particular utilityt of a science or art, the 
utility of such science or art as a means of support to its 
professors. Short particular meter. See meter*, :i. 
= Syn. 1-3. Separate, distinctive. 3 and 4. Peculiar, etc. 
See special. T. Circumstantial, etc. See minute i. 9. 
Exact, scrupulous. 
II. n. 1. A single instance or matter; a sin- 
gle point or circumstance ; a distinct, separate, 
or minute part or detail. 
Some few particulars I have set down, 
Only for this meridian, fit to be known 
Of your crude traveller. B. Jonson, Volpone, iv. 1. 
29th. Called up with news from Sir W. Batten that Hogg 
hath brought in two prizes more ; and so I thither, and 
hear the particulars, which are good ; one of them, if 
prize, being worth 400M., for which God be thanked ! 
Pepys, Diary, III. 36. 
A letter from my agent in town soon came with a con- 
firmation of every particular. Goldsmith, Vicar, iii. 
2f. A specialist; one who devotes himself to 
doing things on his own account and not in 
partnership. 
For your spectators, you behold them what they are : 
the most choice particulars in court : this tells tales well ; 
this provides coaches; this repeats jests; this presents 
gifts ; this holds up the arras ; this takes down from horse ; 
this protests by this light ; this swears by that candle ; 
this delighteth ; this adoreth ; yet all but three men. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, v. 2. 
They utterly sought ye ruine of y perticulers [private 
traders] : as appeareth by this, that they would not sufler 
any of y generall either to buy or sell with them. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 178. 
3t. Private account or interest; personal in- 
terest or concern ; part ; portion ; account. 
For my particular, I can, and from a most clear con- 
science, affirm that I have ever trembled to think toward 
the least profaneness. B. Jonion. Volpone, Ded. 
Some of those that still remained hear on their perticu- 
ler begane privately to nurish a faction. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 157. 
As to my own particular, I stand to this hour amaz'd 
that God should give so greate perfection to so young a 
person. Evelyn, Diary, March 4, 1666. 
4f. Individual state or character ; special pe- 
culiarity. 
The particulars of future beings must needs be dark 
unto ancient theories. Sir T. Browne, Urn-burial, iv. 
Venice has several particulars which are not to be 
found in other cities, and is therefore very entertaining 
to a traveller. It looks, at a distance, like a great town 
half floated by a deluge. 
Addison, Remarks on Italy (ed. Bonn), I. 387. 
5. A minute and detailed account; a minute: 
as, a particular of premises; a. particular of a 
plaintiffs demand, etc. [Obsolete, or used only 
in legal phrases.] 
A particular of wages due to the Deputy, Army, and 
other State Officers and affaires relating to Ireland, an 
1587-1688. Evelyn, To Sam. Pepys, Esq. 
The reader has a particular of the books wherein this 
law was written. Ayli/e, Parergon. 
6. Something specially made for, belonging 
to, or the choice of a person: as, he drank a 
glass of his own particular. [Colloq.] Bill of 
particulars. See WH3. In particular, specially ; par- 
ticularly ; to particularize. 
particulart (par-tik'u-lar), v. t. [< particular, 
a.] To particularize. 
particularisation, particularise. Seepartie- 
ularization, particularize. 
particularism (par-tik'u-lar-izm), n. [= F. 
particularisme = Pg. particularismo = G. par- 
ticularismus; as particular + -ism."] 1. Atten- 
tion or adherence to or exclusive interest in 
one's own special interests, party, or state ; in- 
dividual, partizan, or national exclusiveness. 
Specifically (a) In a federation, the doctrine or practice 
of leaving each state free to promote its peculiar interests 
(and to retain its own laws), as distinguished from those 
of the federation as a whole ; especially, in recent German 
history, the policy of the states annexed to Prussia after 
the war of 1866 which wished to preserve their own laws, 
etc., or of the states under Prussian influence. (6) The 
view that the Hebrews are the chosen people of God, held 
by them in ancient and modern times. 
The abolition of Judaic particularism, and the impartial 
freedom of the heavenly and glorified life that belongs to 
Jesus. 0. P. Fisher, Begin, of Christianity, p. 613. 
2. Attention to particulars or details. 
The marked particularism which has characterized the 
study of Lichens for the last thirty years. 
K Tuckerman, Genera Lichenum, p. 1. 
