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sects - 2 dictionary results

sect

  [sekt]
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–noun
1. a body of persons adhering to a particular religious faith; a religious denomination.
2. a group regarded as heretical or as deviating from a generally accepted religious tradition.
3. (in the sociology of religion) a Christian denomination characterized by insistence on strict qualifications for membership, as distinguished from the more inclusive groups called churches.
4. any group, party, or faction united by a specific doctrine or under a doctrinal leader.
Origin:
1300–50; ME secte < L secta something to follow, pathway, course of conduct, school of thought, prob. n. deriv. of sectārī to pursue, accompany, wait upon, freq. of sequī to follow
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sect   (sěkt)   
n.  
  1. A group of people forming a distinct unit within a larger group by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or practice.
  2. A religious body, especially one that has separated from a larger denomination.
  3. A faction united by common interests or beliefs.

[Middle English secte, from Old French, from Latin secta, course, school of thought, from feminine past participle of sequī, to follow; see sekw-1 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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