Section

Section
Section Sec"tion, n. [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}.] 1. The act of cutting, or separation by cutting; as, the section of bodies. [1913 Webster]

2. A part separated from something; a division; a portion; a slice. Specifically: [1913 Webster] (a) A distinct part or portion of a book or writing; a subdivision of a chapter; the division of a law or other writing; a paragraph; an article; hence, the character [sect], often used to denote such a division. [1913 Webster]

It is hardly possible to give a distinct view of his several arguments in distinct sections. --Locke. [1913 Webster] (b) A distinct part of a country or people, community, class, or the like; a part of a territory separated by geographical lines, or of a people considered as distinct. [1913 Webster]

The extreme section of one class consists of bigoted dotards, the extreme section of the other consists of shallow and reckless empirics. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster] (c) One of the portions, of one square mile each, into which the public lands of the United States are divided; one thirty-sixth part of a township. These sections are subdivided into quarter sections for sale under the homestead and pre["e]mption laws. [1913 Webster]

3. (Geom.) The figure made up of all the points common to a superficies and a solid which meet, or to two superficies which meet, or to two lines which meet. In the first case the section is a superficies, in the second a line, and in the third a point. [1913 Webster]

4. (Nat. Hist.) A division of a genus; a group of species separated by some distinction from others of the same genus; -- often indicated by the sign [sect]. [1913 Webster]

5. (Mus.) A part of a musical period, composed of one or more phrases. See {Phrase}. [1913 Webster]

6. The description or representation of anything as it would appear if cut through by any intersecting plane; depiction of what is beyond a plane passing through, or supposed to pass through, an object, as a building, a machine, a succession of strata; profile. [1913 Webster]

Note: In mechanical drawing, as in these Illustrations of a cannon, a longitudinal section (a) usually represents the object as cut through its center lengthwise and vertically; a cross or transverse section (b), as cut crosswise and vertically; and a horizontal section (c), as cut through its center horizontally. Oblique sections are made at various angles. In architecture, a vertical section is a drawing showing the interior, the thickness of the walls, etc., as if made on a vertical plane passed through a building. [1913 Webster]

{Angular sections} (Math.), a branch of analysis which treats of the relations of sines, tangents, etc., of arcs to the sines, tangents, etc., of their multiples or of their parts. [R.]

{Conic sections}. (Geom.) See under {Conic}.

{Section liner} (Drawing), an instrument to aid in drawing a series of equidistant parallel lines, -- used in representing sections.

{Thin section}, a section or slice, as of mineral, animal, or vegetable substance, thin enough to be transparent, and used for study under the microscope. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Part; portion; division.

Usage: {Section}, {Part}. The English more commonly apply the word section to a part or portion of a body of men; as, a section of the clergy, a small section of the Whigs, etc. In the United States this use is less common, but another use, unknown or but little known in England, is very frequent, as in the phrases ``the eastern section of our country,'' etc., the same sense being also given to the adjective sectional; as, sectional feelings, interests, etc. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • section — [ sɛksjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1564; « action de couper » 1380; « scission » 1366; lat. sectio I ♦ 1 ♦ Math. Figure engendrée par l intersection de deux autres. Section plane d un volume : figure constituée par l intersection de ce plan et de ce volume.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Section 28 — of the Local Government Act 1988 was a controversial amendment to the United Kingdom s Local Government Act 1986, enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of the UK by section(122) of… …   Wikipedia

  • section — sec‧tion [ˈsekʆn] noun 1. [countable] one of the parts of an organization or department: • You will need to speak to the manager of the marketing services section. • Toyota suffered its biggest drop in profit since its sales and manufacturing… …   Financial and business terms

  • Section — may refer to:* Section (bookbinding), papers folded during bookbinding * Section (botany) * Section (category theory), also in homological algebra, and including: ** Section (fiber bundle), in topology ** Part of a sheaf (mathematics) * Section… …   Wikipedia

  • Section 25 — Origin Blackpool, England Genres Post punk, Alternative dance, Electro, Alternative rock Years active 1977–1988, 2001–present Labels …   Wikipedia

  • Section 8 — or Section Eight may refer to:*Section 8 (military), a kind of discharge from the United States military due to mental illness and/or problems *Section 8 (housing), a U.S. government funded housing program *Section Eight Productions, a company… …   Wikipedia

  • Section Z — Éditeur Capcom Développeur Capcom Date de sortie Décembre 1985 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Section 25 — ist eine Band, die in den 1980ern auf dem inzwischen nicht mehr existierenden britischen Label Factory Records Platten veröffentlichte. Gegründet wurde die Band im April 1978 von den Brüdern Vincent und Lawrence John, genannt Larry Cassidy in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Section Fu — est un quatuor de rappeurs français (Linko, Ati Mali, Dexter et Voodoo), issus des 18e, 19e arrondissements de Paris et de la Seine Saint Denis. À l origine, ce groupe fondé en 1994 par Voodoo, s appelait Natifs du 18e. En 1996, ils deviennent… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • section — SECTION. s. f. Une des parties en quoy est divisé un traité, un chapitre &c. Ce livre est divisé en tant de sections. chapitre second. section premiere. il a divisé ce traité par sections. On appelle, Section, En termes de Mathematique, La ligne… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”