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fragment

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Fragment Library
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frag⋅ment

  [n. frag-muhnt; v. frag-muhnt, -ment, frag-ment]
Use fragment in a Sentence
–noun
1. a part broken off or detached: scattered fragments of the broken vase.
2. an isolated, unfinished, or incomplete part: She played a fragment of her latest composition.
3. an odd piece, bit, or scrap.
–verb (used without object)
4. to collapse or break into fragments; disintegrate: The chair fragmented under his weight.
–verb (used with object)
5. to break (something) into pieces or fragments; cause to disintegrate: Outside influences soon fragmented the Mayan culture.
6. to divide into fragments; disunify.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L fragmentum a broken piece, remnant, equiv. to frag- (s. of frangere to break ) + -mentum -ment

Synonyms:
1–3. See part.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Fragment Library
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frag·ment   (frāg'mənt)   
n.  

  1. A small part broken off or detached.

  2. An incomplete or isolated portion; a bit: overheard fragments of their conversation; extant fragments of an old manuscript.

  3. Grammar A sentence fragment.

v.   (-měnt') frag·ment·ed, frag·ment·ing, frag·ments

v.   tr.
To break or separate (something) into fragments.
v.   intr.
To become broken into fragments: After the election, the coalition fragmented.

[Middle English, from Latin fragmentum, from frangere, frag-, to break; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fragment  (n.)
1531, from L. fragmentum "a fragment, remnant," from root of frangere "to break." The verb is first recorded 1818 in Keats' "Endymion." The verb frag is first attested 1970 in U.S. military slang, from fragmentation grenade (1918).
"Fragging is a macabre ritual of Vietnam in which American enlisted men attempt to murder their superiors. The word comes from the nickname for hand grenades, a weapon popular with enlisted men because the evidence is destroyed with the consummation of the crime." ["Saturday Review," Jan. 8, 1972]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: frag·ment
Pronunciation: 'frag-m&nt
Function: noun
: a part broken off or detached
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

fragment frag·ment (frāg'mənt)
n.

  1. A small part broken off or detached.

  2. An incomplete or isolated portion; a bit.

v. frag·ment·ed, frag·ment·ing, frag·ments (frāg'měnt')
To break or separate into fragments.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

fragment
fragmentation

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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