sectile, a.
(ˈsɛktɪl, -aɪl)
[a. F. sectile, ad. L. sectil-em, f. sect-, ppl. stem of secāre to cut.]
Capable of or suited for being cut. † a. sectile leek [= L. sectile porrum Juv.], a dwarf or stunted variety of Allium Porrum. Obs. rare—1.
| 1716 M. Davies Athen. Brit. II. 349 The Sectile or Cropt Leeks are such as are cut off for the Kitchen. |
b. Min. (See quot. 1805.)
| 1805 Weaver tr. Werner's External Charac. Fossils 196 Sectile are those fossils whose integrant particles are coherent, but not perfectly immoveable one among another. Sectile is a medium between brittle and malleable. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1141 Bituminous shale is a species of soft, sectile slate-clay. 1879 Rutley Stud. Rocks x. 157 Distinguished by its inferior hardness, being sectile, while iron pyrites cannot be cut with a knife. |
c. Bot. (See quot.)
| 1899 Heinig Gloss. Bot. Terms, Sectile, divided into small pieces. |
Hence secˈtility, sectile quality.
| 1841 J. Trimmer Pract. Geol. & Min. 97 A knife is also indispensable for trying the hardness and sectility of minerals. |