Fractionalization

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or process of dividing something into smaller parts or fractions
2. The process where a whole is separated into distinct fractional components
3. The action of breaking down or splitting a whole into fractional pieces

Etymology: Fractionalization is a plain formation rather than a story with a famous coiner: it is built from "fractional", which itself comes from "fraction", plus the suffix "-ization". The root "fraction" entered English in the late Middle English period through Old French "fraccion", from Latin "fractio", a breaking, from "frangere", to break. Its literal sense was the breaking of something into pieces, which is still visible in the modern meaning. The adjective "fractional" grew from that noun by way of the suffix "-al", which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "relating to" the noun, so "fractional" means relating to fractions or parts. The Greek-derived suffix "-ize", from "-izein", was adopted into Late Latin and then French before reaching English, and it was used to form verbs meaning "to make into" something. Adding "-ation" to "fractionalize" yields the noun "fractionalization", a process noun for the act of making something fractional. Its meaning therefore runs from a physical breaking apart to a more abstract division of anything into shares or portions.

Synonyms: division, segmentation, splitting, partitioning, disaggregation

Antonyms: unification, integration, consolidation, merging, combination