scission

noun

scis·​sion ˈsi-zhən 

1

: a division or split in a group or union : schism

2

: an action or process of cutting, dividing, or splitting : the state of being cut, divided, or split

Did you know?

You may suspect that a connection exists between "scission" and "scissors," but, actually, their etymologies are sharply divided. "Scission" traces to the Latin verb scindere ("to split" or "to cut"). "Scissors," on the other hand, comes from an entirely separate Latin verb that also means "to cut" - "caedere." The Middle English word for the cutting instrument was "cisours" or "sisoures," which comes from Middle French cisoires. An "sc" spelling appeared only in the 16th century when, apparently, the word for the cutting instrument was mistakenly taken to have derived, like "scission," from "scindere."

Synonyms

• bifurcation
• breakup
• cleavage
• dissolution
• disunion
• division
• fractionalization
• fractionation
• partition
• schism
• separation
• split
• sundering

Examples of scission in a Sentence

fears that the scission of the labor union will compromise the workers' bargaining power

Recent Examples on the Web

The second major structural change involves one of the hallmarks of SARS-CoV-2 as compared to SARS-CoV-1: initial scission at the S1 furin cleavage site. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 6 May 2022

When the nucleus ultimately disintegrates, these pieces move apart rapidly and the neck snaps quickly, a process known as scission. —Charles Q. Choi, Scientific American, 24 Feb. 2021

Wilson cautions more work is needed to explain how exactly spin results after scission. —Charles Q. Choi, Scientific American, 24 Feb. 2021

The structure is easily broken down in a reaction called scission (like scissors), which tears up the polymer chain. —Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 5 Aug. 2020

Using IVs that are sanitized between trees, park service workers make a minimally invasive scission in order to treat the tree, according to Jason Gillis, park arborist for National Mall and Memorial Parks. —Paulina Smolinski, USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2019

Word History

Etymology

early Scots scissione, borrowed from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French cision, scission "act of cutting, slit, cut," borrowed from Late Latin scissiōn-, scissiō "tearing apart, division" (Medieval Latin, "dissent, schism"), from Latin *scid-, base of scindere "to split, cleave, separate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at shed entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Medical Definition

scission

noun

scis·​sion ˈsizh-ən 

: an action or process of cutting, dividing, or splitting : the state of being cut, divided, or split

single strand scissions in DNA