-sect

Divided or cut.

[Latin sect-, from secare, to cut.]

A transect (Latin trans, across) is a straight line or thin section through an object or natural feature; to intersect (Latin inter-, between) is to divide something by passing or lying across it. An insect (Latin in-, into, hence ‘in parts’) is named from the threefold form of its body.

To dissect something is to cut it up in order to examine it closely (Latin dis-, apart); a surgeon may resect or remove a small piece of tissue or part of an organ, literally ‘cut it back’. The verbs bisect (Latin bi-, having two) and trisect (Latin tres, three) refer to dividing an object into parts.

A sect, a group having different beliefs from those of a larger group to which it belongs, derives instead from Latin secta, a following (from sequi, to follow); to vivisect (Latin vivus, living), to perform operations on live animals for scientific research, is formed from vivisection.

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