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section


  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  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. 
 
  2.  A  part  separated  from  something  a  division;  a  portion;  a 
  slice.  Specifically: 
  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. 
 
  It  is  hardly  possible  to  give  a  distinct  view  of 
  his  several  arguments  in  distinct  sections. 
  --Locke. 
  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. 
 
  The  extreme  section  of  one  class  consists  of 
  bigoted  dotards,  the  extreme  section  of  the 
  other  consists  of  shallow  and  reckless  empirics. 
  --Macaulay. 
  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. 
 
  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. 
 
  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]. 
 
  5.  (Mus.)  A  part  of  a  musical  period,  composed  of  one  or  more 
  phrases.  See  {Phrase}. 
 
  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. 
 
  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,  ets.,  as  if  made  on  a  vertical 
  plane  passed  through  a  building. 
 
  {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  sections},  a  section  or  slice,  as  of  mineral,  animal, 
  or  vegetable  substance,  thin  enough  to  be  transparent,  and 
  used  for  study  under  the  microscope. 
 
  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 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  section 
  n  1:  a  self-contained  part  of  a  larger  composition;  "he  always 
  turns  first  to  the  business  section";  "the  history  of 
  this  work  is  discussed  in  the  next  section"  [syn:  {subdivision}] 
  2:  a  very  thin  slice  (of  tissue  or  mineral  or  other  substance) 
  for  examination  under  a  microscope;  "sections  from  the 
  left  ventricle  showed  diseased  tissue" 
  3:  a  distinct  region  or  subdivision  of  a  territorial  or 
  political  area  or  community  or  group  of  people;  "no 
  section  of  the  nation  is  more  ardent  than  the  South"; 
  "there  are  three  synagogues  in  the  Jewish  section" 
  4:  one  of  several  pieces  or  parts  that  fit  with  others  to 
  constitute  a  whole  object:  "a  section  of  a  fishing  rod"; 
  "metal  sections  were  used  below  ground";  "finished  the 
  final  segment  of  the  road"  [syn:  {segment}] 
  5:  a  small  team  of  policemen  working  as  part  of  a  police 
  platoon 
  6:  one  of  the  portions  into  which  something  is  regarded  as 
  divided  and  which  together  constitute  a  whole:  "the 
  written  part  of  the  exam";  "the  finance  section  of  the 
  company";  "the  BBC's  engineering  division"  [syn:  {part},  {division}] 
  7:  a  land  unit  of  1  square  mile  measuring  1  mile  on  a  side 
  8:  (geometry)  the  area  created  by  a  plane  cutting  through  a 
  solid  [syn:  {plane  section}] 
  9:  a  division  of  an  orchestra  containing  all  instruments  of  the 
  same  class 
  10:  a  small  army  unit  usually  having  a  special  function 
  11:  a  specialized  division  of  a  large  organization;  "you'll  find 
  it  in  the  hardware  department";  "she  got  a  job  in  the 
  historical  section  of  the  Treasury"  [syn:  {department}] 
  12:  a  segment  of  a  citrus  fruit;  "he  ate  a  section  of  the 
  orange" 
  13:  the  cutting  of  or  into  body  tissues  or  organs  (especially  by 
  a  surgeon  as  part  of  an  operation)  [syn:  {incision}] 
  v  :  divide  into  segments;  "segment  an  orange";  "segment  a 
  compound  word"  [syn:  {segment}] 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Section,  AL  (town,  FIPS  69000) 
  Location:  34.58100  N,  85.98382  W 
  Population  (1990):  777  (335  housing  units) 
  Area:  11.9  sq  km  (land),  0.0  sq  km  (water) 
  Zip  code(s):  35771 




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