section
/ˈsɛkʃən/ noun, verb
Forms sections sectioning sectioned
- noun A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something.
- noun A part, piece, subdivision of anything.
- noun (music) A group of instruments in an orchestra. “The horn section is the group of symphonic musicians who play the French horn.”
- noun A part of a document, especially a major part; often notated with §.
- noun An act or instance of cutting.
- noun A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
- noun (aviation) A cross-section perpendicular the longitudinal axis of an aircraft in flight.
- noun (topology) A function that generalizes the notion of the graph of a function; formally, a continuous right inverse to the projection map of a fiber bundle.
- verb To cut, divide or separate into pieces.
- verb To reduce to the degree of thinness required for study with the microscope.
- verb (UK, Australia, New Zealand) To commit (a person) to a hospital for mental health treatment as an involuntary patient. So called after various sections of legal acts regarding mental health.
- verb (medicine) To perform a cesarean section on (someone).
Synonyms
cutting slice split monomorphism square mile sectio division part piece snippet schedule subdivision segment plane section discussion section department incision surgical incision
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English seccioun, from Old French section, from Latin sectiō (“cutting, cutting off, excision, amputation of diseased parts of the body, etc.”), from sectus, past participle of secāre (“to cut”). More at saw.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of cutting, or separation by cutting; as, the section of bodies.
- noun A part separated from something; a division; a portion; a slice.
Etymology [L. sectio, fr. secare, sectum, to cut; akin to E. saw a cutting instrument: cf. F. section. See Saw, and cf. Scion, Dissect, Insect, Secant, Segment.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “section”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details