Compartment

Pronunciation

• enPR: kÉ™m-pärtmÉ™nt

Origin

First attested 1564, from Middle French compartiment, from Italian compartimento, from Late Latin compartiri ("to divide with, to share with"), from com- + partiri ("to apportion, to divide, to share")

Full definition of compartment

Noun

1. A room, or section, or chamber
• "Two men were seated in a well-lighted compartment of a third-class carriage."
2. One of the parts in which an area is subdivided.
3. (biochemistry) Part of a protein that serves a specific function.