shard
UK: ʃɑːd | US: ʃɑːrd
n. a broken piece of a brittle material (e.g., glass, pottery)
n. (computing) a partition or fragment of data in distributed systems
The word "shard" traces back to Old English sceard, meaning "a gap or notch" (from scearan, "to cut"). Over time, it evolved to specifically denote broken fragments of hard materials like pottery or glass. The modern computing sense metaphorically extends this idea to data fragmentation. The morpheme remains intact, reflecting its Germanic roots without further division.
She carefully swept up the shards of the shattered vase.
Archaeologists uncovered pottery shards from the ancient site.
The database splits records into shards for efficient storage.
A sharp shard of glass lay hidden in the sand.
His theory was like a shard of truth in a sea of speculation.