DEPARTMENT

department

(noun) a specialized sphere of knowledge; “baking is not my department”; “his work established a new department of literature”

department, section

(noun) a specialized division of a large organization; “you’ll find it in the hardware department”; “she got a job in the historical section of the Treasury”

department

(noun) the territorial and administrative division of some countries (such as France)

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

department (plural departments)

A part, portion, or subdivision.

A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like.

A subdivision of an organization.

(often, in proper names) One of the principal divisions of executive government

(in a university) One of the divisions of instructions

A territorial division; a district; especially, in France, one of the districts into which the country is divided for governmental purposes, similar to a county in the UK and in the USA. France is composed of 101 départements organized in 18 régions, each department is divided into arrondissements, in turn divided into cantons.

(historical) A military subdivision of a country

(obsolete) Act of departing; departure.

Synonyms

• (distinct course): province, specialty

• (division of executive government): ministry

Source: Wiktionary

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De*part"ment, n. Etym: [F. département, fr. départir. See Depart, v. i.]

1. Act of departing; departure. [Obs.] Sudden departments from one extreme to another. Wotton.

2. A part, portion, or subdivision.

3. A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like; appointed sphere or walk; province. Superior to Pope in Pope's own peculiar department of literature. Macaulay.

4. Subdivision of business or official duty; especially, one of the principal divisions of executive government; as, the treasury department; the war department; also, in a university, one of the divisions of instructions; as, the medical department; the department of physics.

5. A territorial division; a district; esp., in France, one of the districts composed of several arrondissements into which the country is divided for governmental purposes; as, the Department of the Loire.

6. A military subdivision of a country; as, the Department of the Potomac.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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