sect

[sekt] /sɛkt/
noun
1.
a body of persons adhering to a particular religious faith; a religious denomination.
2.
a group regarded as heretical or as deviating from a generally accepted religious tradition.
3.
(in the sociology of religion) a Christian denomination characterized by insistence on strict qualifications for membership, as distinguished from the more inclusive groups called churches.
4.
any group, party, or faction united by a specific doctrine or under a doctrinal leader.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English secte < Latin secta something to follow, pathway, course of conduct, school of thought, probably noun derivative of sectārī to pursue, accompany, wait upon, frequentative of sequī to follow
Related forms
subsect, noun
undersect, noun
Can be confused
sects, sex.

sect.

1.
section.
Examples from the web for sect
  • It is distressing to see a member of one sect correct the inference of someone they believe is a member of another sect.
  • Taking out opposition is a way to help your sect grow.
  • It got rooted back in time when procreation was a necessity to keep your specific group or sect alive and flourish.
  • At that point, it becomes a religion unto itself, as dogmatic as any religious sect.
  • As each sect in religion helps to protect us from some other sect, so every mental tendency is the limitation of some other.
  • No single ethnic clan, religious sect or regional group can or should claim the moral high ground.
  • National leaders do not make giant sacrifices on behalf of the nation because their higher loyalty is to the sect or clan.
  • The world doesn't end, but the sect leader never changes his story.
British Dictionary definitions for sect

sect

/sɛkt/
noun
1.
a subdivision of a larger religious group (esp the Christian Church as a whole) the members of which have to some extent diverged from the rest by developing deviating beliefs, practices, etc
2.
(often derogatory)
  1. a schismatic religious body characterized by an attitude of exclusivity in contrast to the more inclusive religious groups called denominations or Churches
  2. a religious group regarded as extreme or heretical
3.
a group of people with a common interest, doctrine, etc; faction
Word Origin
C14: from Latin secta faction, following, from the stem of sequī to follow
Word Origin and History for sect
n.

mid-14c., "distinctive system of beliefs or observances; party or school within a religion," from Old French secte, sete "sect, religious community," or directly from Late Latin secta "religious group, sect in philosophy or religion," from Latin secta "manner, mode, following, school of thought," literally "a way, road, beaten path," from fem. of sectus, variant past participle of sequi "follow," from PIE *sekw- (1) "to follow" (see sequel). Confused in this sense with Latin secta, fem. past participle of secare "to cut" (see section (n.)). Meaning "separately organized religious body" is recorded from 1570s.

sect in Culture

sect definition


A religious group, especially one that has separated from a larger group. Sect is often a term of disapproval.

Related Abbreviations for sect

sect.

  1. section
  2. sectional
sect in the Bible

(Gr. hairesis, usually rendered "heresy", Acts 24:14; 1 Chr. 11:19; Gal. 5:20, etc.), meaning properly "a choice," then "a chosen manner of life," and then "a religious party," as the "sect" of the Sadducees (Acts 5:17), of the Pharisees (15:5), the Nazarenes, i.e., Christians (24:5). It afterwards came to be used in a bad sense, of those holding pernicious error, divergent forms of belief (2 Pet. 2:1; Gal. 5:20).