Smithereens

Disintegrated into small fragments dates from the late 18th/early 19th century and is thought to be of Irish or Scottish Gaelic origin. -Een is a common Irish diminutive present, for example, in words like colleen. The origin of the first part, ‘smither’, is obscure but is perhaps derived from an old Irish or Scots Gaelic word for a small amount or fragment. See also smidgin.