[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

piece \piece\, n. oe. pece, f. pi`ece, ll. pecia, petia,
   petium, probably of celtic origin; cf. w. peth a thing, a
   part, portion, a little, armor. pez, gael.  ir. cuid part,
   share. cf. petty.
   1. a fragment or part of anything separated from the whole,
      in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or
      tearing; a part; a portion; as, a piece of sugar; to break
      in pieces.
      1913 webster

            bring it out piece by piece.          --ezek. xxiv.
                                                  6.
      1913 webster

   2. a definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a
      piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper.
      1913 webster

   3. any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of
      the same kind; an individual article; a distinct single
      effort of a series; a definite performance; especially:
      a a literary or artistic composition; as, a piece of
          poetry, music, or statuary.
      b a musket, gun, or cannon; as, a battery of six pieces;
          a following piece.
      c a coin; as, a sixpenny piece; -- formerly applied
          specifically to an english gold coin worth 22
          shillings.
      d a fact; an item; as, a piece of news; a piece of
          knowledge.
          1913 webster

   4. an individual; -- applied to a person as being of a
      certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used
      slightingly or in contempt. "if i had not been a piece of
      a logician before i came to him." --sir p. sidney.
      1913 webster

            thy mother was a piece of virtue.     --shak.
      1913 webster

            his own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is
            in all the world.                     --coleridge.
      1913 webster
      1913 webster

   5. chess one of the superior men, distinguished from a
      pawn.
      1913 webster

   6. a castle; a fortified building. obs. --spenser.
      1913 webster

   of a piece, of the same sort, as if taken from the same
      whole; like; -- sometimes followed by with. --dryden.

   piece of eight, the spanish piaster, formerly divided into
      eight reals.

   to give a piece of one's mind to, to speak plainly,
      bluntly, or severely to another. --thackeray.

   piece broker, one who buys shreds and remnants of cloth to
      sell again.

   piece goods, goods usually sold by pieces or fixed
      portions, as shirtings, calicoes, sheetings, and the like.
      1913 webster
see also:
petty of a piece piece of eight to give a piece of one's mind to piece broker piece goods 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

piece of eight
     n : an old silver spanish coin; worth 8 reales

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