— segmentary /seg"meuhn ter'ee/ , adj. — segmentate , adj.
n. /seg"meuhnt/ ; v. /seg"ment, seg ment"/ , n.
1. one of the parts into which something naturally separates or is divided; a division, portion, or section: a segment of an orange.
2. Geom.
a. a part cut off from a figure, esp. 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.
b. Also called line segment . a finite section of a line.
3. Zool.
a. any of the rings that compose the body of an annelid or arthropod.
b. any of the discrete parts of the body of an animal, esp. of an arthropod.
4. an object, as a machine part, having the form of a segment or sector of a circle.
5. Computers.
a. a portion of a program, often one that can be loaded and executed independently of other portions.
b. a unit of data in a database.
6. an arclike support on which the typebars of a typewriter rest when not in use.
v.t. , v.i.
7. to separate or divide into segments.
[ 1560-70; segmentum, equiv. to sec ( are ) to cut + -mentum -MENT ]
Syn. 1. See part .