segment English · revision 6707

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1570|origins=la seco}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɛɡ.mənt/, /ˈsɛɡmɛnt/; /sɛɡˈmɛnt/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|segmentum|t=a strip or piece cut off]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|seco|alt=secāre|t=to cut]] (see [[section]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE [[ine-pro|*sek-|t=to cut]], with -c- changed to -g- before -m-.^(Etymonline) Medieval Latin used segmentum as a term of geometry.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In geometry, part of a circle cut off by a line: 1570.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A piece cut or broken off is from 1586,^(OED 1989) and a finite part of a line between two points from 1617.^(OED 1989) The general sense of a division or section is first recorded in 1762.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, of cell division, is from 1859, and to divide something into segments from 1872.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) A part of an animal's body, such as a ring of an insect or worm, and a section of a market or a broadcast are later uses.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1570 – a segment of a circle.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1617 – a segment of a line.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1762 – a division or section.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1859 – the verb.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of the parts into which something is or can be divided; a [[section]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(geometry)'' The part of a line between two points, or of a [[circle]] between a [[chord]] and an [[arc]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(biology)'' Any of the similar ring-like sections of an animal's body, as in a [[worm]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To divide or become divided into segments.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[segmentary]]

+ * [[segmentate]]

+ * [[intersegment]]

+ * [[macrosegment]]

+ * [[microsegment]]

+ * [[multisegment]]

+ * [[segmental]]

+ * [[segmentize]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[secant]]

+ * [[sect]]

+ * [[section]]

+ * [[sector]]

+ * [[segmentation]]

+ * [[somite]]

+ * [[insect]]

+ * [[bisect]]

+ * [[saw]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}