/sekt/ , n.
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.
[ 1300-50; ME secte secta something to follow, pathway, course of conduct, school of thought, prob. n. deriv. of sectari to pursue, accompany, wait upon, freq. of sequi to follow ]