n.
     - any of the more or less distinct parts into which something is or may be divided or from which it is made up. ▸N. Amer. a measure of land, equal to one square mile. ▸chiefly N. Amer. a particular district of a town. ▸NZ a building plot. 
- a distinct group within a larger body of people or things. ▸a subdivision of an army platoon. ▸Biology  a secondary taxonomic category, especially a subgenus. 
- the cutting of a solid by or along a plane. ▸the shape resulting from cutting a solid along a plane. ▸a representation of the internal structure of something as if it has been cut through. 
- Surgery  a separation by cutting.
- Biology  a thin slice of plant or animal tissue prepared for microscopic examination.
v.
   - divide into sections.
- Surgery  divide by cutting.
- Brit. commit (someone) compulsorily to a psychiatric hospital in accordance with a section of a mental health act.
Derivative
  
    - sectional adj.
- sectionalize
 or sectionalise v.
- sectionally adv.
- sectioned adj.
 
  Etymology
  ME: from Fr. section or L. sectio(n-), from secare ‘to cut’.