sect
Plural: sects
Noun
- A group of people with distinct beliefs or practices.
- a subdivision of a larger religious group
- a dissenting clique
- An offshoot of a larger religion or denomination.
- A group following a specific ideal or a leader.
- A cutting; a scion.
Examples
- a religious sect
- The competitive Scrabble players sometimes felt like a small, intense sect.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English secte, from Old French secte (“a sect in philosophy or religion”), from Late Latin secta (“a sect in philosophy or religion, a school, party, faction, class, gild, band, particularly a heretical doctrine or sect, etc.”), possibly, from Latin sequi (“to follow”). Alternatively linked to sectus (“cut off, divided”), past participle of secō.
Synonyms
faction, religious order, religious sect
Scrabble Score: 6
sect: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordsect: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sect: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 7
sect: valid Words With Friends Word