scission
UK: ˈsɪʒ(ə)n | US: ˈsɪʒən
n. the act or process of cutting or dividing, especially in a surgical or scientific context
n. a division or split, often referring to a formal separation (e.g., in organizations or ideologies)
scission = sciss<cut> + ion<noun suffix>
- sciss (from Latin scissus, past participle of scindere, meaning "to cut, split")
- ion (a noun-forming suffix indicating an action or process, from Latin -io)
Etymology Origin:
The word scission traces back to Latin scindere ("to cut"), which also gives us words like scissors and rescind. The -ion suffix transforms the verb into a noun denoting the act or result of cutting. Historically, scindere implied forceful splitting, often used in physical or metaphorical contexts (e.g., splitting wood or dividing groups). Over time, scission specialized in technical (surgical, botanical) and abstract (organizational splits) uses, retaining its core idea of division.
The surgeon performed a precise scission to remove the tumor.
The political party faced a scission over ideological differences.
Cell scission is a critical step in bacterial reproduction.
The artist’s work explores the scission between reality and illusion.
The scission of the coalition led to two rival factions.