segment

[noun seg-muh nt; verb seg-ment, seg-ment]

noun

one of the parts into which something naturally separates or is divided; a division, portion, or section: a segment of an orange.

Geometry.

a part cut off from a figure, especially a circular or spherical one, by a line or plane, as a part of a circular area contained by an arc and its chord or by two parallel lines or planes.
Also called line segment.a finite section of a line.

Zoology.

any of the rings that compose the body of an annelid or arthropod.
any of the discrete parts of the body of an animal, especially of an arthropod.

an object, as a machine part, having the form of a segment or sector of a circle.

Computers.

a portion of a program, often one that can be loaded and executed independently of other portions.
a unit of data in a database.

an arclike support on which the typebars of a typewriter rest when not in use.

verb (used with or without object)

to separate or divide into segments.

Nearby words

Origin of segment

1560–70; < Latin segmentum, equivalent to sec(āre) to cut + -mentum -ment

SYNONYMS FOR segment

1. See part.

Related forms

seg·men·tar·y

[seg-muh n-ter-ee] /ˈsɛg mənˌtɛr i/, adjectiveseg·men·tate, adjectivein·ter·seg·ment, noun, adjectivemul·ti·seg·ment, adjective

mul·ti·seg·ment·ed, adjectivenon·seg·men·tar·y, adjectivenon·seg·ment·ed, adjectiveun·seg·men·tar·y, adjectiveun·seg·ment·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for segmentate

segment

noun (ˈsɛɡmənt)

maths

a part of a line or curve between two points
a part of a plane or solid figure cut off by an intersecting line, plane, or planes, esp one between a chord and an arc of a circle

one of several parts or sections into which an object is divided; portion

zoology any of the parts into which the body or appendages of an annelid or arthropod are divided

linguistics a speech sound considered in isolation

verb (sɛɡˈmɛnt)

to cut or divide (a whole object) into segments

Derived Formssegmentary (ˈsɛɡməntərɪ, -trɪ), adjective

Word Origin for segment

C16: from Latin segmentum, from secāre to cut

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for segmentate

segment

1560s, from Latin segmentum "a strip or piece cut off, a cutting, strips of colored cloth," from secare "to cut" (see section (n.)), with euphonious alteration of -c- to -g- before -m-. Latin segmentum was used in Medieval Latin as a geometry term, translating Greek tmema, and the word was first picked up in English in this sense. Meaning "segmental portion of anything circular" is from 1640s; general sense of "a division, section" is from 1762.

segment

1859, intransitive, in reference to cell division, from segment (n.). Transitive sense, "divide (something) into segments" is from 1872. Related: Segmented; segmenting.

Medicine definitions for segmentate

segment

[sĕg′mənt]

n.

A clearly differentiated subdivision of an organism or part, such as a metamere.

A part of an organ having independent function, supply, or drainage.

zona

Science definitions for segmentate

segment

[sĕg′mənt]

The portion of a line between any two of its points.

The region bounded by an arc of a circle and the chord that connects the endpoints of the arc.

The portion of a sphere included between a pair of parallel planes that intersect it or are tangent to it.