Partitions

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Divisions that establish distinct boundaries among sections of a whole
2. Panels or barriers used to divide an area into separate parts
3. Physical separations installed to create distinct sections within a room or building

Etymology: The plural "partitions" is simply the plural of "partition," so its history is the history of the singular noun. Partition first appeared in English around 1430, when it meant a division into shares or a distinction between things. It came through Middle English "particioun" and Old French "particion" from Latin "partitio," meaning "division" or "portion," which itself grew from "partitus," the past participle of "partire," to split up. The sense of a wall that divides a room arrived later, as the word shifted from abstract division to physical separation. The meaning of dividing an object into parts and the meaning of dividing a space both trace back to the same Latin idea of splitting something into portions.

Synonyms: divisions, separations, walls

Antonyms: unifications, integrations