segment

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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
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. 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 (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.

segment A section of cable found in a network which connects together devices such as GATEWAYS and computers. See also see POPULATED SEGMENT and LINK SEGMENT.

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

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