section

pronunciation

How to pronounce section in British English: UK [ˈsekʃn] word uk audio image

How to pronounce section in American English: US [ˈsekʃn] word us audio image

Noun:

a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical)
a very thin slice (of tissue or mineral or other substance) for examination under a microscope
a distinct region or subdivision of a territorial or political area or community or group of people
one of several parts or pieces that fit with others to constitute a whole object
a small team of policemen working as part of a police platoon
one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole
a land unit of 1 square mile measuring 1 mile on a side
(geometry) the area created by a plane cutting through a solid
a division of an orchestra containing all instruments of the same class
a small army unit usually having a special function
a specialized division of a large organization
a segment of a citrus fruit
the cutting of or into body tissues or organs (especially by a surgeon as part of an operation)
Verb:

divide into segments

Word Origin

section: section: [16] Section is one of a wide range of English words that go back to Latin secāre ‘cut’. Others include bisect [17], dissect [17], insect, intersect [17], secateurs [19], sector [16], and segment [16]. It goes back ultimately to the Indo- European base *sek- ‘cut’, which also produced English saw, scythe, sedge, and sickle. The immediate source of section itself was the Latin derivative sectiō ‘cutting’.=> bisect, dissect, insect, saw, scythe, secateurs, sedge, segment, sickle

section (n.): late 14c., "intersection of two straight lines; division of a scale;" from Old French section or directly from Latin sectionem (nominative sectio) "a cutting, cutting off, division," noun of action from past participle stem of secare "to cut," from PIE root *sek- "to cut" (cognates: Old Church Slavonic seko, sešti "to cut," se čivo "ax, hatchet;" Lithuanian isekti "to engrave, carve;" Albanian šate "mattock;" Old Saxon segasna, Old English sigðe "scythe;" Old English secg "sword," seax "knife, short sword;" Old Irish doescim "I cut;" Latin saxum "rock, stone"). From 1550s as "act of cutting or dividing." Meaning "subdivision of a written work, statute, etc." is from 1570s. Meaning "a part cut off from the rest" is from early 15c.

section (v.): "divide into sections," 1819, from section (n.). Related: Sectioned; sectioning.