segment

views updated May 29 2018

seg·ment • n. / ˈsegmənt/ 1. each of the parts into which something is or may be divided. ∎  a portion of time allocated to a particular broadcast item on radio or television. ∎  a separate broadcast item, typically one of a number that make up a particular program. ∎  Phonet. the smallest distinct part of a spoken utterance, in particular the vowels and consonants as opposed to stress and intonation. ∎  Zool. each of the series of similar anatomical units of which the body and appendages of some animals are composed, such as the visible rings of an earthworm's body.2. Geom. a part of a figure cut off by a line or plane intersecting it, in particular: ∎  the part of a circle enclosed between an arc and a chord. ∎  the part of a line included between two points. ∎  the part of a sphere cut off by any plane not passing through the center.• v. / ˈsegˌment; segˈment/ [tr.] divide (something) into separate parts or sections: the unemployed are segmented into two groups. ∎  [intr.] divide into separate parts or sections: the market is beginning to segment into a number of well-defined categories. ∎  [intr.] Embryology (of a cell) undergo cleavage; divide into many cells.DERIVATIVES: seg·men·tar·y / -ˌterē/ adj.seg·men·ta·tion / ˌsegmənˈtāshən/ n.ORIGIN: late 16th cent. (as a term in geometry): from Latin segmentum, from secare ‘to cut.’ The verb dates from the mid 19th cent.

segment

views updated May 17 2018

segment
1. Originally, a clearly identifiable set of data, or code, that was moved between backing store and main memory under the control of the user. Later the term was applied to a set of data, still clearly visible to the user, that was managed by the operating system as part of the virtual-memory system. A segment differs from a page in that its size is not fixed, and the user has a measure of direct control over its management.

2. Part of a program. The word is usually used in the context of storage allocation, as in code segment, data segment.

3. A region of near-uniform intensity in a gray-level image that represents a distinct entity. Segmentation is the image-processing stage that locates and divides up an image into segments.

4. of an Ethernet. A part of an Ethernet that consists of a single length of cable, usually coaxial cable. There are strict limits on the total length of cable that can be used. See Ethernet, thick wire.

segment

views updated May 17 2018

segment sb. XVI. — L. segmentum, f. sec-, stem of secāre cut; see -MENT.
Hence vb. XIX.

segment

views updated May 18 2018

segment. Plane figure contained by a straight line and part of the circumference of a circle. A segmental arch is therefore the shape of a segment, formed by its centre far below the springing-line of the arch.

segment

views updated May 14 2018

segment (seg-mĕnt) n. (in anatomy) a portion of a tissue or an organ (e.g. the uterus or the eye), usually distinguishable from other portions by lines of demarcation.