division or disunion, esp. into mutually opposed parties.
2.
the parties so formed.
3.
Ecclesiastical.
a.
a formal division within, or separation from, a church or religious body over some doctrinal difference.
b.
the state of a sect or body formed by such division.
c.
the offense of causing or seeking to cause such a division.
Origin: 1350–1400; < LL (Vulgate) sc(h)isma (s. sc(h)ismat-) < Gk, deriv. of schízein to split, with -ma (s. -mat-) n. suffix of result; r. ME (s)cisme, sisme < MF < LL, as above
1382, scisme, "dissention within the church," from O.Fr. cisme "a cleft, split," from L.L. schisma, from Gk. skhisma (gen. skhismatos) "division, cleft," from stem of skhizein "to split" (see shed (v.)). Spelling restored 16c., but pronunciation unchanged. Often in reference to the Great Schism (1378-1417) in the Western Church. Schismatic (n.) is attested from 1377.
[siz-uh
m, skiz-] 