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Webster 1913 Edition

Department

De-part′ment

,
Noun.
[F.
département
, fr.
départir
. See
Depart
,
Verb.
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 instruction;
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
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Department

DEPARTMENT

, n.
1.
Literally, a separation or division; hence, a separate part, or portion; a division of territory; as the departments of France.
2.
A separate allotment or part of business; a distinct province, in which a class of duties are allotted to a particular person; as the department of state, assigned to the secretary of state; the treasury department; the department of war.
3.
A separate station; as, the admirals had their respective departments. Nearly in this sense, during war, were used in America, the terms, Northern and Southern departments.

Definition 2024

Department

Department

See also: department

German

Noun

Department n ‎(genitive Departments, plural Departments)

  1. (of the US government or US/UK universities) department

Declension

External links

department

department

See also: Department

English

Noun

department ‎(plural departments)

  1. A part, portion, or subdivision.
  2. A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like.
    Technical things are not his department; he's a people person.‎
    • 2014 November 14, Stephen Halliday, “Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero”, in The Scotsman:
      Flair and invention were very much at a premium, suffocated by the relentless pace and often fractious nature of proceedings. The absence of James Morrison from the centre of Scotland’s midfield, the West Brom man ruled out on the morning of the game by illness, had already diminished the creative capacity of the home side in that department.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Thomas Babington Macaulay
      Superior to Pope in Pope's own peculiar department of literature.‎
  3. A subdivision of an organization.
    1. (often in proper names) One of the principal divisions of executive government
      the Treasury Department; the Department of Agriculture; police department
    2. (in a university) One of the divisions of instructions
      the physics department; the gender studies department
  4. A territorial division; a district; especially, in France, one of the districts composed of several arrondissements into which the country is divided for governmental purposes.
    • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to the 1715-99, Penguin 2003, p. 427:
      The departments were the bricks from which the edifice of the nation was to be constructed.
  5. (historical) A military subdivision of a country; as, the Department of the Potomac.
  6. (obsolete) Act of departing; departure.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Wotton
      sudden 'departments from one extreme to another

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Etymology

From English department.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [diˈpaːɐ̯tmənt]
  • Hyphenation: De‧part‧ment

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