Occasionally, a piece of broken pottery may be referred to as a shard, or the more precise term potsherd can be used. While the word shard is generally reserved for referring to fragments of glass vessels (possibly as the word is reminiscent of — though not etymologically related to — "sharp") the term does not necessarily exclude pottery fragments. A sherd or potsherd with writing painted or inscribed on it can be more precisely referred to as an ostracon. : en arqueología designa un fragmento de cerámica, y ocasionalmente a un fragmento de piedra o vidrio.
Occasionally, a piece of broken pottery may be referred to as a shard, or the more precise term potsherd can be used. While the word shard is generally reserved for referring to fragments of glass vessels (possibly as the word is reminiscent of — though not etymologically related to — "sharp") the term does not necessarily exclude pottery fragments. A sherd or potsherd with writing painted or inscribed on it can be more precisely referred to as an ostracon. : en arqueología designa un fragmento de cerámica, y ocasionalmente a un fragmento de piedra o vidrio.