| n. | 1. | Act of departing; departure. |
| 2. | A part, portion, or subdivision. | |
| 3. | A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like; appointed sphere or walk; province. | |
| 4. | Subdivision of business or official duty; especially, one of the principal divisions of executive government; | |
| 5. | A territorial division; a district; esp., in France, one of the districts composed of several arrondissements into which the country is divided for governmental purposes; | |
| 6. | A military subdivision of a country; |
| Noun | 1. | department - a specialized division of a large organization; "you'll find it in the hardware department"; "she got a job in the historical section of the Treasury" Synonyms: section |
| 2. | department - the territorial and administrative division of some countries (such as France) | |
| 3. | department - a specialized sphere of knowledge; "baking is not my department"; "his work established a new department of literature" |
DEPARTMENT. A portion of a country. In France, the country is divided into
departments, which are somewhat similar to the counties in this country. The
United States have been divided into military departments, including certain
portions of the country. 1 Pet. 293.
2. By department is also meant the division of authority, as, the
department of state, of the navy, &c.