remnant
/ˈrɛmnənt
/noun
1A part or quantity that is left after the greater part has been used, removed, or destroyed: the bogs are an endangered remnant of a primeval landscape...
- It happened in front of the Western Wall, the last remnant of the Second Temple.
- Nine hundred years later, the remnant of their empire is a small, weary nation, divided between two countries, with a bad reputation due west, and a genetic legacy like no other, stretching from the Pacific to the Caspian Sea.
- Nearby is the Bosco di Mesola, the only remnant of the woodland which once covered most of the delta area: here Italy's last surviving native population of red deer took refuge, protected by the malarial swamps all around.
Synonyms
remains, remainder, leftovers, leavings, residue, rest;
stub, butt, end, tail end;
dregs, lees
technical residuum
1.1A piece of cloth left when the greater part has been used or sold: he sat sewing patchwork cushions with all the remnants...
- Since dealers tend to sell remnants at a discount, it's well worth the extra effort.
- She lost her balance and fell headfirst onto a 1-cm thick piece of plush carpet remnant covering the concrete floor.
- The warehouse is a treasure trove of inexpensive art supplies, including fabric remnants, wallpaper samples, tiles, and picture frames.
Synonyms
scrap, piece, bit, fragment, shred, offcut, oddment
1.2A surviving trace: a remnant of the past...
- Above the violence and social injustice rises a battle to survive and maintain a remnant of integrity.
- As much as the concept of community had developed, humans still had a capacity for wanting the best for themselves, the remnant of survival instincts.
- As a textually bound remnant of the past, he is already determined, ‘enslaved’ in Browning's metaphor, by the documentary record into which he has been interpolated.
2 Christian Theology A small minority of people who will remain faithful to God and so be saved (in allusion to biblical prophecies concerning Israel): if any one ceases to be a witness, he ceases to be one of the remnant...
- The concept of a remnant emerges - a faithful minority whose response to God is sincere and who thereby single themselves out as the bearers of a unique commission to the rest of the nation.
adjective [attributive]
Remaining: remnant strands of hair...
- By the mid 1950s - 60s, the UK's once-thriving population had been reduced to remnant populations in the south west of England, East Anglia, parts of Wales and Scotland.
- Provision of geographic links between existing areas of remnant vegetation potentially facilitating gene flow and dispersal among populations of species that have become ecological islands due to clearing.
- The English aristocrat recognised the historical importance of remnant business houses and early pearling masters' homes, and set about restoring some of Broome's architectural origins.
Origin
Middle English: contraction of obsolete remenant from Old French remenant, from remenoir, remanoir 'remain'.