sect

¹

[sekt]

noun

1. a body of persons adhering to a particular religious faith; a religious denomination.

2. a group regarded as heretical or as deviating from a generally accepted religious tradition.

3. (in the sociology of religion) a Christian denomination characterized by insistence on strict qualifications for membership, as distinguished from the more inclusive groups called churches.

4. any group, party, or faction united by a specific doctrine or under a doctrinal leader.

-sect

²

1. a combining form with the meaning “cut,” used in the formation of compound words bisect, dissect, exsect .

sect.

³

abbreviation

1. section.

-sect

¹

combining form

1. to cut or divide, esp into a specified number of parts

   trisect

sect

²

/ sɛkt /

noun

1. a subdivision of a larger religious group (esp the Christian Church as a whole) the members of which have to some extent diverged from the rest by developing deviating beliefs, practices, etc

2. derogatory

   1. a schismatic religious body characterized by an attitude of exclusivity in contrast to the more inclusive religious groups called denominations or Churches

   2. a religious group regarded as extreme or heretical

3. a group of people with a common interest, doctrine, etc; faction

sect

1. A religious group, especially one that has separated from a larger group. Sect is often a term of disapproval.

Other Word Forms

• subsect noun
• undersect noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sect¹

1300–50; Middle English secte < Latin secta something to follow, pathway, course of conduct, school of thought, probably noun derivative of sectārī to pursue, accompany, wait upon, frequentative of sequī to follow

Origin of sect²

From Latin sectus, past participle of secāre “to cut”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sect¹

from Latin sectus cut, from secāre to cut; see _saw ¹

Origin of sect²

C14: from Latin secta faction, following, from the stem of sequī to follow

Example Sentences

Two excommunicated Spanish nuns who have joined a sect were held for allegedly selling cultural assets belonging to the Catholic Church from a convent they refuse to leave, a court said on Friday.

Read more on Barron's

It evolved from a local Islamist sect founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri with the official name of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad and a political goal of creating an Islamic state.

Read more on BBC

On Sept. 5, Beirut declined to adopt explicitly its own army’s disarmament plan to avoid Shiite discontent after five cabinet ministers from that sect, including the ostensibly “independent” Fadi Makki, walked out of a meeting.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

How could a department be competent when its faculty sees that variety only from the standpoint of a narrow political sect?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The main targets are Alawites, the sect of the ousted Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• church 
• creed 
• cult 
• denomination 
• faction 
• faith 
• religion