dissect

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin dissectus past participle of dissecare (“to cut asunder, cut up”), from dis- (“asunder”) + secare (“to cut”); see section. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /dɪˈsɛkt/, /daɪˈsɛkt/ (US) IPA(key): /dɪˈsɛkt/, /daɪˈsɛkt/ Rhymes: -ɛkt === Verb === dissect (third-person singular simple present dissects, present participle dissecting, simple past and past participle dissected) (literal, transitive) To study an animal's anatomy by cutting it apart; to perform a necropsy or an autopsy. (literal, transitive) To study a plant's or other organism's anatomy similarly. (figurative, transitive) To analyze an idea in detail by delineating between its parts. (figurative, transitive, derogatory) To decontextualize an idea, especially through overanalysis by delineating between its parts too strongly based on style, usually involving pedantry, at the expense of substance. Synonym: contextomize (literal, transitive, anatomy, surgery) To separate muscles, organs, etc. without cutting into them or disrupting their architecture. (literal, transitive, pathology) Of an infection or foreign material, following the fascia separating muscles or other organs. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== dissection ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === “dissect”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “dissect”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “dissect”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Anagrams === cestids