FROM THE ARCHIVEMonday, October 5, 2026
scintilla
sin-TIL-uh/sɪnˈtɪlə//noun
01 / MEANING
A tiny spark or the slightest trace of something.
In a sentence.
- 01
There was a scintilla of hope when the missing page turned up.
- 02
A scintilla flashed from the metal as the tool struck it.
Where it came from.
Scintilla is Latin for ‘spark.’ English kept both the literal flash and a figurative sense for the smallest detectable amount.
Explore the sourceWhy it’s interesting.
It shrinks a spark into a measure: even a scintilla of doubt is enough to notice.