The pieces of something that breaks are called fragments.
Before getting to know the meaning of the term fragment , we are going to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it is a word that derives from Latin, exactly from "fragmentum", which can be translated as "part of something" and is the result of the sum of the following lexical components:
-The verb «frangere», which is synonymous with «to break».
-The suffix «-ment», which is equivalent to «instrument» and «result».
What is a fragment
The term refers to a portion of something that was divided or fractured . For example: "I dropped a glass and the glass fragments scattered throughout the dining room" , "The murderer dismembered the victim and hid the fragments of the body in different parts of the city" , "The museum will exhibit a fragment of the Berlin Wall until the end of the year » .
We can establish, therefore, that among the synonyms of fragment we find words such as part, piece, fraction or piece. On the contrary, its antonyms include sum, totality or everything, for example.
A fragment is usually a part of a whole.
Parts of a whole
Fragments are usually small pieces that were once part of a whole. This unity can be broken by accident or through an action aimed at that end. Suppose a person is cleaning a ceramic vase when the object slips from his or her hands and crashes to the floor. The vase, in this way, becomes multiple scattered ceramic fragments. To reconstruct the unit, the fragments would have to be glued together, although the result would not be the same and the vase may not look like it did before the fall.
Take the case of two friends who, at a concert , manage to keep a handkerchief that a singer throws from the stage as a gift to his fans. To share the handkerchief in question and so that both can keep that memory, the friends decide to cut the handkerchief and thus each one keeps a fragment.
Fragment as a portion of an artistic work
It is important to mention that the fragments can be parts of a work , and even be symbolic fractions (without physical existence): "The writer read a fragment of his novel before dozens of listeners" , "Some fragments of the film are very bloody" , «The Mexican artist released fragments of the songs that will be part of his next album» .
When talking about literature, it is very common for the great works of history worldwide to be known by some of their fragments. A good example of this is that, for example, the chivalric novel "Don Quixote" (1605), written by Miguel de Cervantes, is especially remembered for the fragment in which the protagonist confronts some windmills believing that they were giants. .
Pieces of a meteorite
Within the field of science we have to establish that the term that concerns us now is also used. So, for example, when we talk about a meteorite we have to know that this is a fragment of a celestial body that ends up falling to Earth.
Furthermore, it must be taken into consideration that there are several types of them, among which we can highlight the primitive and the differentiated ones.