segmentation
(ˌsɛgmənˈteɪʃən)
[f. segment v. + -ation.]
† 1. ‘A cutting into small pieces, an embroidering’ (Blount Glossogr. 1656). Obs.—0
2. a. The process of division into segments; spec. in Embryology, the process by which, in the Metazoa, the germinal cell or protoplasmic mass is converted by division into a multitude of cells, which become metamorphosed into the tissues of the body; cf. also segment n. 4 c, d.
| 1851 Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 487 The first change..in the Mammalian ovum, is the ‘segmentation’ of the yolk; the entire mass of which..resolves itself..into..segments. 1880 A. Gray Struct. Bot. iii. §4. 98 Lobation or Segmentation. 1882 Vines Sachs' Bot. 293 The leaves undergo a segmentation similar to that of the stem. 1884 A. Sedgwick in Q. Jrnl. Microsc. Sci. XXIV. 43 On the Origin of Metameric Segmentation [etc.]. 1910 Spectator 30 July 173/1 This segmentation of the tribe into clans would lead us to the discussion of exogamy. 1943 M. Schlauch Gift of Tongues 254 French has its own formulas of segmentation like quant à. 1950 A. R. Radcliffe-Brown Afr. Systems Kinship 40 For structures having successive segmentations the term ‘polysegmentary’ has been suggested. 1953 C. E. Bazell Linguistic Form p. i, Space has been found to touch on several aspects of linguistic form which pass unnoticed in more extensive treatments of the subject... The problem of segmentation..has for this reason been left in the background. 1962 C. O. Frake in Gladwin & Sturtevant Anthrop. & Human Behavior 76 The segmentation of speech into the grammatically functioning units revealed by linguistic analysis is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for terminological analysis. 1962 Spring Joint Computer Conf. 307/1 Segmentation is the process of dividing a single program into pieces. This is done to permit the operation of programs that are too large to completely fit into memory. 1971 W. Wilder in R. Needham Rethinking Kinship & Marriage 213 It might well be possible to decide whether local segmentation among the Purum appeared to lead to the formation of alliance groups. 1973 C. W. Gear Introd. Computer Sci. vi. 243 The process of breaking a program into a number of smaller segments is called segmentation. |
b. attrib., as segmentation cavity = blastocele; segmentation sphere, see quot. 1898.
| 1888 Huxley & Martin Elem. Biol. i. 166 The cleavage cavity (segmentation cavity); small and central. 1898 Syd. Soc. Lex., Segmentation sphere, one of the cells of a fertilized ovum that has undergone segmentation. 1909 Contemp. Rev. Apr. 447 Each segmentation sphere contained all the characters necessary to produce the entire organism. |
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Add: 3. Marketing. The division of a market into segments (sense *4 f).
| 1956 Jrnl. Marketing July 5/1 Segmentation is based upon developments on the demand side of the market and represents a rational and more precise adjustment of product and marketing effort to consumer or user requirements. 1964 Harvard Business Rev. Mar. 83/1 Segmentation analysis..is based on the proposition that once you discover the most useful ways of segmenting a market, you have produced the beginnings of a sound marketing strategy. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 21 Feb. 20/3 Segmentation is no answer for the typical daily newspaper, whose profits depend on its ability to bring an advertiser's message into the overwhelming majority of homes in his marketing area. 1986 Marketing Week 29 Aug. 24/2 Horizon's marketing strategy, which is founded upon segmentation and winning back travel agent support. |