the act or process of dividing; state of being divided.
2.
Arithmetic. the operation inverse to multiplication; the finding of a quantity, the quotient, that when multiplied by a given quantity, the divisor, gives another given quantity, the dividend; the process of ascertaining how many times one number or quantity is contained in another.
3.
something that divides or separates; partition.
4.
something that marks a division; dividing line or mark.
5.
one of the parts into which a thing is divided; section.
6.
separation by difference of opinion or feeling; disagreement; dissension.
7.
Government. the separation of a legislature, or the like, into two groups, in taking a vote.
8.
one of the parts into which a country or an organization is divided for political, judicial, military, or other purposes.
9.
Military.
a.
(in the army) a major administrative and tactical unit, larger than a regiment or brigade and smaller than a corps: it is usually commanded by a major general.
b.
(in the navy) a number of ships, usually four, forming a tactical group that is part of a fleet or squadron.
10.
a major autonomous or semi-independent but subordinate administrative unit of an industrial enterprise, government bureau, transportation system, or university: the sales division of our company; the Division of Humanities.
11.
(in sports) a category or class containing all the teams or competitors grouped together according to standing, skill, weight, age, or the like: a team in the first division; the heavyweight division in boxing.
12.
Botany. a major primary subdivision of the plant kingdom, consisting of one or more classes; plant phylum.
13.
Zoology. any subdivision of a classificatory group or category.
14.
Horticulture. a type of propagation in which new plants are grown from segments separated from the parent plant.
15.
the ornamentation of a melodic line in 17th- and 18th-century music.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME divisioun, devisioun (< AF) < L dīvīsiōn- (s. of dīvīsiō), equiv. to dīvīs(us) (see divisible) + -iōn--ion]
—Related forms
di·vi·sion·al, di·vi·sion·ar·y, adjective
di·vi·sion·al·ly, adverb
—Synonyms 1. separation, apportionment, allotment, distribution. Division,partition suggest dividing into parts. Division usually means marking off or separating a whole into parts. Partition often adds the idea of allotting or assigning parts following division: partition of an estate, of a country. 4. boundary, demarcation. 5. compartment, segment. 6. breach, rift, disunion, rupture, estrangement, alienation.
An area of government or corporate activity organized as an administrative or functional unit.
A territorial section marked off for political or governmental purposes.
An administrative and tactical military unit that is smaller than a corps but is self-contained and equipped for prolonged combat activity.
A group of several ships of similar type forming a tactical unit under a single command in the U.S. Navy.
A unit of the U.S. Air Force larger than a wing and smaller than an air force.
Variance of opinion; disagreement.
A splitting into factions; disunion.
Mathematics The operation of determining how many times one quantity is contained in another; the inverse of multiplication.
The proportional distribution of a quantity or entity.
Something, such as a boundary or partition, that serves to divide or keep separate.
One of the parts, sections, or groups into which something is divided.
An area of government or corporate activity organized as an administrative or functional unit.
A territorial section marked off for political or governmental purposes.
An administrative and tactical military unit that is smaller than a corps but is self-contained and equipped for prolonged combat activity.
A group of several ships of similar type forming a tactical unit under a single command in the U.S. Navy.
A unit of the U.S. Air Force larger than a wing and smaller than an air force.
Variance of opinion; disagreement.
A splitting into factions; disunion.
An administrative and tactical military unit that is smaller than a corps but is self-contained and equipped for prolonged combat activity.
A group of several ships of similar type forming a tactical unit under a single command in the U.S. Navy.
A unit of the U.S. Air Force larger than a wing and smaller than an air force.
Variance of opinion; disagreement.
A splitting into factions; disunion.
Botany The highest taxonomic category, consisting of one or more related classes, and corresponding approximately to a phylum in zoological classification. See Table at taxonomy.
A category created for purposes of competition, as in boxing.
Variance of opinion; disagreement.
A splitting into factions; disunion.
The physical separation and regrouping of members of a parliament according to their stand on an issue put to vote.
Biology Cell division.
A type of propagation characteristic of plants that spread by means of newly formed parts such as bulbs, suckers, or rhizomes.
[Middle English divisioun, from Old French division, from Latin dīvīsiō, dīvīsiōn-, from dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidere, to divide; see divide.]
c.1374, from O.Fr. division, from L. divisionem (nom. divisio), from divid-, stem of dividere (see divide). Military sense is first recorded 1597. Mathematical sense is from c.1425. The mathematical division sign supposedly was invented by British mathematician John Pell (1611-85) who taught at Cambridge and Amsterdam. Divisive "producing discord" is from 1642.
an army unit large enough to sustain combat; "two infantry divisions were held in reserve"
2.
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]
3.
the act or process of dividing
4.
an administrative unit in government or business
5.
discord that splits a group
6.
a league ranked by quality; "he played baseball in class D for two years"; "Princeton is in the NCAA Division 1-AA" [syn: class]
7.
(biology) a group of organisms forming a subdivision of a larger category
8.
(botany) taxonomic unit of plants corresponding to a phylum
9.
a unit of the United States Air Force usually comprising two or more wings
10.
a group of ships of similar type
11.
an arithmetic operation that is the inverse of multiplication; the quotient of two numbers is computed
12.
the act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart
The act, process, or operation of finding out how many times one number or quantity is contained in another.
A taxonomic classification within the plant kingdom that ranks immediately above a class and corresponds to a phylum in other kingdoms. See Table at taxonomy.
Main Entry: di·vi·sion Pronunciation: d&-'vizh-&n Function: noun 1: the act or process of dividing : the state of
being divided —see CELL DIVISION 2: a group of organisms forming part of a larger group;
specifically: a primary category of the plant kingdom —di·vi·sion·al/-'vizh-n&l, -'vizh-&n-&l/adjective
Com"pound\, a. [OE. compouned, p. p. of compounen. See Compound, v. t.] Composed of two or more elements, ingredients, parts; produced by the union of several ingredients, parts, or things; composite; as, a compound word. Compound substances are made up of two or more simple substances. --I. Watts. Compound addition, subtraction, multiplication, division (Arith.), the addition, subtraction, etc., of compound numbers. Compound crystal (Crystallog.), a twin crystal, or one seeming to be made up of two or more crystals combined according to regular laws of composition. Compound engine (Mech.), a form of steam engine in which the steam that has been used in a high-pressure cylinder is made to do further service in a larger low-pressure cylinder, sometimes in several larger cylinders, successively. Compound ether. (Chem.) See under Ether. Compound flower (Bot.), a flower head resembling a single flower, but really composed of several florets inclosed in a common calyxlike involucre, as the sunflower or dandelion. Compound fraction. (Math.) See Fraction. Compound fracture. See Fracture. Compound householder, a householder who compounds or arranges with his landlord that his rates shall be included in his rents. [Eng.] Compound interest. See Interest. Compound larceny. (Law) See Larceny. Compound leaf (Bot.), a leaf having two or more separate blades or leaflets on a common leafstalk. Compound microscope. See Microscope. Compound motion. See Motion. Compound number (Math.), one constructed according to a varying scale of denomination; as, 3 cwt., 1 qr., 5 lb.; -- called also denominate number. Compound pier (Arch.), a clustered column. Compound quantity (Alg.), a quantity composed of two or more simple quantities or terms, connected by the sign + (plus) or - (minus). Thus, a + b - c, and bb - b, are compound quantities. Compound radical. (Chem.) See Radical. Compound ratio (Math.), the product of two or more ratios; thus ab:cd is a ratio compounded of the simple ratios a:c and b:d. Compound rest (Mech.), the tool carriage of an engine lathe. Compound screw (Mech.), a screw having on the same axis two or more screws with different pitch (a differential screw), or running in different directions (a right and left screw). Compound time (Mus.), that in which two or more simple measures are combined in one; as, 6-8 time is the joining of two measures of 3-8 time. Compound word, a word composed of two or more words; specifically, two or more words joined together by a hyphen.
Daugh"ter\, n.; pl. Daughters; obs. pl. Daughtren. [OE. doughter, doghter, dohter, AS. dohtor, dohter; akin to OS. dohtar, D. dochter, G. tochter, Icel. d[=o]ttir, Sw. dotter, Dan. dotter, datter, Goth. da['u]htar,, OSlav. d[u^]shti, Russ. doche, Lith. dukt[=e], Gr. qyga`thr, Zend. dughdhar, Skr. duhit[.r]; possibly originally, the milker, cf. Skr. duh to milk. [root]68, 245.]1. The female offspring of the human species; a female child of any age; -- applied also to the lower animals. 2. A female descendant; a woman. This woman, being a daughter of Abraham. --Luke xiii. 16. Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughter of the land. --Gen. xxxiv. 1. 3. A son's wife; a daughter-in-law. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters. --Ruth. i. 11. 4. A term of address indicating parental interest. Daughter, be of good comfort. --Matt. ix. 22. Daughter cell (Biol.), one of the cells formed by cell division. See Cell division, under Division.
Di*vi"sion\, n. [F. division, L. divisio, from dividere. See Divide.]1. The act or process of diving anything into parts, or the state of being so divided; separation. I was overlooked in the division of the spoil. --Gibbon. 2. That which divides or keeps apart; a partition. 3. The portion separated by the divining of a mass or body; a distinct segment or section. Communities and divisions of men. --Addison. 4. Disunion; difference in opinion or feeling; discord; variance; alienation. There was a division among the people. --John vii. 43. 5. Difference of condition; state of distinction; distinction; contrast. --Chaucer. I will put a division between my people and thy people. --Ex. viii. 23. 6. Separation of the members of a deliberative body, esp. of the Houses of Parliament, to ascertain the vote. The motion passed without a division. --Macaulay. 7. (Math.) The process of finding how many times one number or quantity is contained in another; the reverse of multiplication; also, the rule by which the operation is performed. 8. (Logic) The separation of a genus into its constituent species. 9. (Mil.) (a) Two or more brigades under the command of a general officer. (b) Two companies of infantry maneuvering as one subdivision of a battalion. (c) One of the larger districts into which a country is divided for administering military affairs. 10. (Naut.) One of the groups into which a fleet is divided. 11. (Mus.) A course of notes so running into each other as to form one series or chain, to be sung in one breath to one syllable. 12. (Rhet.) The distribution of a discourse into parts; a part so distinguished. 13. (Biol.) A grade or rank in classification; a portion of a tribe or of a class; or, in some recent authorities, equivalent to a subkingdom. Cell division (Biol.), a method of cell increase, in which new cells are formed by the division of the parent cell. In this process, the cell nucleus undergoes peculiar differentiations and changes, as shown in the figure (see also Karyokinesis). At the same time the protoplasm of the cell becomes gradually constricted by a furrow transverse to the long axis of the nuclear spindle, followed, on the completion of the division of the nucleus, by a separation of the cell contents into two masses, called the daughter cells. Long division (Math.), the process of division when the operations are mostly written down. Short division (Math.), the process of division when the operations are mentally performed and only the results written down; -- used principally when the divisor is not greater than ten or twelve. Syn: compartment; section; share; allotment; distribution; separation; partition; disjunction; disconnection; difference; variance; discord; disunion.
En*dog"e*nous\, a. 1. (Bot.) Increasing by internal growth and elongation at the summit, instead of externally, and having no distinction of pith, wood, and bark, as the rattan, the palm, the cornstalk. 2. (Biol.) Originating from within; increasing by internal growth. Endogenous multiplication (Biol.), a method of cell formation, seen in cells having a cell wall. The nucleus and protoplasm divide into two distinct masses; these in turn become divided and subdivided, each division becoming a new cell, until finally the original cell wall is ruptured and the new cells are liberated (see Segmentation, and Illust. of Cell Division, under Division). This mode of growth is characteristic of many forms of cells, both animal and vegetable.
Fis"sion\, n. [L. fissio. See Fissure.]1. A cleaving, splitting, or breaking up into parts. 2. (Biol.) A method of asexual reproduction among the lowest (unicellular) organisms by means of a process of self-division, consisting of gradual division or cleavage of the into two parts, each of which then becomes a separate and independent organisms; as when a cell in an animal or plant, or its germ, undergoes a spontaneous division, and the parts again subdivide. See Segmentation, and Cell division, under Division. 3. (Zo["o]l.) A process by which certain coral polyps, echinoderms, annelids, etc., spontaneously subdivide, each individual thus forming two or more new ones. See Strobilation.
Long\, a. [Compar. Longer; superl. Longest.] [AS. long, lang; akin to OS, OFries., D., & G. lang, Icel. langr, Sw. l[*a]ng, Dan. lang, Goth. laggs, L. longus. [root]125. Cf. Length, Ling a fish, Linger, Lunge, Purloin.]1. Drawn out in a line, or in the direction of length; protracted; extended; as, a long line; -- opposed to short, and distinguished from broad or wide. 2. Drawn out or extended in time; continued through a considerable tine, or to a great length; as, a long series of events; a long debate; a long drama; a long history; a long book. 3. Slow in passing; causing weariness by length or duration; lingering; as, long hours of watching. 4. Occurring or coming after an extended interval; distant in time; far away. The we may us reserve both fresh and strong Against the tournament, which is not long. --Spenser. 5. Extended to any specified measure; of a specified length; as, a span long; a yard long; a mile long, that is, extended to the measure of a mile, etc. 6. Far-reaching; extensive. " Long views." --Burke. 7. (Phonetics) Prolonged, or relatively more prolonged, in utterance; -- said of vowels and syllables. See Short, a., 13, and Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 22, 30. Note: Long is used as a prefix in a large number of compound adjectives which are mostly of obvious meaning; as, long-armed, long-beaked, long-haired, long-horned, long-necked, long-sleeved, long-tailed, long- worded, etc. In the long run, in the whole course of things taken together; in the ultimate result; eventually. Long clam (Zo["o]l.), the common clam (Mya arenaria) of the Northern United States and Canada; -- called also soft-shell clam and long-neck clam. See Mya. Long cloth, a kind of cotton cloth of superior quality. Long clothes, clothes worn by a young infant, extending below the feet. Long division. (Math.) See Division. Long dozen, one more than a dozen; thirteen. Long home, the grave. Long measure, Long mater. See under Measure, Meter. Long Parliament (Eng. Hist.), the Parliament which assembled Nov. 3, 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell, April 20, 1653. Long price, the full retail price. Long purple (Bot.), a plant with purple flowers, supposed to be the Orchis mascula. --Dr. Prior. Long suit (Whist), a suit of which one holds originally more than three cards. --R. A. Proctor. Long tom. (a) A pivot gun of great length and range, on the dock of a vessel. (b) A long trough for washing auriferous earth. [Western U.S.] (c) (Zo["o]l.) The long-tailed titmouse. Long wall (Coal Mining), a working in which the whole seam is removed and the roof allowed to fall in, as the work progresses, except where passages are needed. Of long, a long time. [Obs.] --Fairfax. To be, or go, long of the market, To be on the long side of the market, etc. (Stock Exchange), to hold stock for a rise in price, or to have a contract under which one can demand stock on or before a certain day at a stipulated price; -- opposed to short in such phrases as, to be short of stock, to sell short, etc. [Cant] See Short. To have a long head, to have a farseeing or sagacious mind.
Nu"cle*us\, n.; pl. E. Nucleuses, L. Nuclei. [L., a kernel, dim. fr. nux, nucis, nut. Cf. Newel post.]1. A kernel; hence, a central mass or point about which matter is gathered, or to which accretion is made; the central or material portion; -- used both literally and figuratively. It must contain within itself a nucleus of truth. --I. Taylor. 2. (Astron.) The body or the head of a comet. 3. (Bot.) (a) An incipient ovule of soft cellular tissue. (b) A whole seed, as contained within the seed coats. 4. (Biol.) A body, usually spheroidal, in a cell or a protozoan, distinguished from the surrounding protoplasm by a difference in refrangibility and in behavior towards chemical reagents. It is more or less protoplasmic, and consists of a clear fluid (achromatin) through which extends a network of fibers (chromatin) in which may be suspended a second rounded body, the nucleolus (see Nucleoplasm). See Cell division, under Division. Note: The nucleus is sometimes termed the endoplast or endoblast, and in the protozoa is supposed to be concerned in the female part of the reproductive process. See Karyokinesis. 5. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The tip, or earliest part, of a univalve or bivalve shell. (b) The central part around which additional growths are added, as of an operculum. (c) A visceral mass, containing the stomach and other organs, in Tunicata and some mollusks.
Par"ent\, n. [L. parens, -entis; akin to parere to bring forth; cf. Gr. ? to give, beget: cf. F. parent. Cf. Part.]1. One who begets, or brings forth, offspring; a father or a mother. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. --Eph. vi. 1. 2. That which produces; cause; source; author; begetter; as, idleness is the parent of vice. Regular industry is the parent of sobriety. --Channing. Parent cell. (Biol.) See Mother cell, under Mother, also Cytula. Parent nucleus (Biol.), a nucleus which, in cell division, divides, and gives rise to two or more daughter nuclei. See Karyokinesis, and Cell division, under Division.
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