segmental
segmental — adjective
- segmentalpositive
- more segmentalcomparative
- most segmentalsuperlative
1. relating to the way something is divided into separate parts that together form
relating to the way something is divided into separate parts that together form a whole structure.
The new office layout has a segmental design, with separate rooms for each team.
collocation: segmental design
Henrik used a segmental approach to divide the project into four smaller tasks.
The bridge was built using segmental construction, joining precast concrete pieces together.
Megan analysed the segmental structure of the novel, looking at each chapter separately.
- sectional
more everyday tone, often used for furniture or buildings that come in separate pieces
- modular
suggests standardised, interchangeable parts, common in design and technology
- divisional
typically used in organisational or administrative contexts
2. relating to the separate sound pieces that spoken words are built from, such as
relating to the separate sound pieces that spoken words are built from, such as single vowel or consonant sounds.
Walid's linguistics homework asked him to list the segmental speech sounds in the word 'cat'.
linguistics domain: segmental speech sounds
The teacher explained that vowels and consonants are both segmental parts of speech.
Nia compared the segmental sounds of English and Spanish for her class project.
Yael marked the segmental speech sounds in her phonetic transcription of 'strength'.
- phonemic
narrower in scope, focusing specifically on sounds that distinguish meaning between words
- suprasegmental
referring to features like stress and intonation that span multiple sound segments
用法筆記
In linguistics, segmental is regularly contrasted with 'suprasegmental', which covers features such as stress, tone, and intonation that apply across multiple segments.
常見錯誤
3. relating to the repeating body sections of some animals, where each section has
relating to the repeating body sections of some animals, where each section has its own muscles, nerves, and organs.
The biology students examined the segmental body structure of an earthworm under a microscope.
biology domain: segmental body structure
Ignacio drew a diagram showing the segmental organisation of a lobster's tail.
Each segmental ganglion in a caterpillar controls the movement of its own body section.
Padma labelled the segmental muscles of the grasshopper in her science notebook.
用法筆記
Common in biology and zoology textbooks describing the anatomy of annelids (segmented worms), arthropods (insects, crustaceans), and some other invertebrates.