Modularisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of structuring designs into interchangeable units, enabling both efficiency and modification is known
2. It refers to the method of breaking down larger systems into smaller, adaptable segments for customization and improved performance
3. The act of dividing a system or design into discrete, reusable parts that can be independently created and assembled

Etymology: "Modularisation" is a plain, technical coinage built from "modular" and the suffix "-isation." The root is Latin "modulus," a diminutive of "modus" meaning "measure," so a module was originally a small measure or standard unit. The word "module" passed into English from French, and "modular" was formed from it with the Latin adjective suffix "-aris," which gives the sense of "relating to or consisting of modules." The suffix does most of the work in "modularisation." It comes from Greek "-izein," which entered Latin as "-izare" and then French and English as "-ise," meaning to make or to treat in a certain way. Adding "-ation," which denotes an action or process, produces a noun for the act of making something modular. The result describes the process of dividing a system into self-contained parts, a sense that became common in engineering and computing in the twentieth century.