Etymologically
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sector

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 20:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsek.tə/, US /ˈsek.tɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin sector (“section of a circle”), in classical Latin “a cutter, one who cuts”,[2][3][4] from sectus, the past participle of secāre (“to cut”),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”).[2] It translated Greek tomeus in Latin editions of Archimedes.[2][5] It is related to section, sect and saw.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In geometry, part of a circle between two radii and an arc: 1570 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster,[6][3][5] the 1560s in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

The sector, a mathematical instrument of two hinged graduated arms, is 16th-century, invented by Thomas Hood.[4][7] Of any figure shaped like a sector it is by 1715.[2][6] A part of a military front, perhaps based on a circle centred on a headquarters, is from 1916 (World War I),[2][3] and the general “area, division” by 1920.[2][3] A branch of an economy, as the public sector, is by 1937.[2] The verb, “to divide into sectors”, is from 1884.[2][6]

Timeline

  • 1570 – part of a circle.[6][3]
  • 1715 – any sector-shaped thing.[2][6]
  • 1884 – verb.[2][6]
  • 1916 – part of a military front.[2][3]
  • 1920 – an area, a division.[2]
  • 1937 – a branch of an economy.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The part of a circle bounded by two radii and the arc between them.
  2. A measuring instrument of two graduated arms hinged at one end.
  3. A division of a military position or front.
  4. A distinct part of an economy or society: the private sector.

Verb

  1. To divide into sectors.

Word family

  • sectorial
  • sectoral
  • subsector
  • private sector
  • public sector
  • third sector

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.