Quadripartition

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of dividing any whole into four separate and distinct sections
2. The act of creating four distinct portions from a single entity through systematic division
3. The act or process of splitting something into four distinct segments

Etymology: Quadripartition is a plain build from Latin, with little drama to it. Its base is "quadripartītiō", the Latin noun for a division into four parts, formed from "quadri-", "four-", and "partītiō", "a division" or "a parting", which comes from "partīre", "to divide", itself rooted in "pars", "part". Each element is transparent: "quadri-" shows up in words like quadrilateral and quadruple, and "part-" is the same stem that gives English part, partition and apportion. English took the word over whole from Latin rather than through French, so its shape stays close to the original. Its meaning follows the literal sense closely: a deliberate splitting of a single whole into four pieces, whether that whole is a territory, a text, a theory or a body of knowledge. The word is less common than its close relative "bipartition", which describes the same operation with two parts.

Synonyms: fourfold division, quartering