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Chunk vs Shard - What's the difference?

chunk | shard | Related terms |

As nouns the difference between chunk and shard

is that chunk is a part of something that has been separated while shard is a piece of broken glass or pottery, especially one found in an archaeological dig.

As verbs the difference between chunk and shard

is that chunk is to break into large pieces or chunks while shard is to fall apart into shards, usually as the result of impact or explosion.

chunk

English

(wikipedia chunk)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A part of something that has been separated.
    • The statue broke into chunks .
  • *
  • A representative of a substance at large, often large and irregular.
    • A chunk of granite .
  • (computing) A discrete segment of a file, stream, etc. (especially one that represents audiovisual media); a block.
  • * 1994 , Paul J Perry, Multimedia developer's guide
    • The first DWORD of a chunk data in the RIFF chunk is a four character code value identifying the form type of the file.

    See also

    * piece * bit * lump * chuck * hunk

    External links

    * *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To break into large pieces or chunks.
  • (slang, chiefly, Southern US) To throw.

    • shard

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl), from (etyl) sceard . Akin to Dutch ).

    Alternative forms

    * sherd

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A piece of broken glass or pottery, especially one found in an archaeological dig.
  • A piece of material, especially rock and similar materials, reminding of a broken piece of glass or pottery.
  • * 2014, (Paul Salopek), Blessed. Cursed. Claimed. , National Geographic (December 2014)[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text]
    • Inside its exhibit hall, behind panes of glass, in a white-lit lab, a team of restorers works on an ancient Byzantine floor: 44 square yards of stone shards rescued from Lot’s Cave Monastery.
  • A tough scale, sheath, or shell; especially an elytron of a beetle.
  • (online role-playing) An instance of an MMORPG that is one of several independent and structurally identical virtual worlds, none of which has so many players as to exhaust a system's resources.
  • * 1997 , Ultima Online''. The term "shard" is related to the backstory of the game, in which the Gem of Immortality is shattered by the Stranger, the protagonist of ''Ultima I .
    • "The planet was still bound to the jewel's magic, even as it lay shattered upon the floor of Mondain's castle. For,(SIC) within each shattered remnant of the jewel, dwelled a perfect likeness of Sosaria. Thus is the world in which you are born, live, and die. Brittania(SIC), that was once Sosaria, now exists as a thousand worlds, each with its own peoples, history and destiny. This Brittania(SIC) is but one of many in the multiverse that is... ...ULTIMA ONLINE." - Intro cinematic to the game, written by Michael Morlan [http://michael-morlan.net/pages/production/prod_uo.htm]
    Derived terms
    * potsherd
    Synonyms
    * potsherd * splinter (of glass)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To fall apart into shards, usually as the result of impact or explosion.
  • To break (something) into shards.
  • (online role-playing) To divide (an MMORPG) into several , or to establish a shard of one.

    • References

    * (pottery) Shard'', in the ''Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, 1974 edition.

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (-)
  • The plant chard.
    • (Dryden)

    Anagrams

    *