Webster's English Dictionary

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sect

sect \'sekt\ n [ME secte, fr. MF & LL & L; MF, group, sect, fr. LL secta 
   organized] ecclesiastical body, fr. L, way of life, class of persons, fr. 
   sequi to follow 1a: a dissenting or schismatic religious body; esp : one 
   regarded a s extreme or heretical 1b: a religious denomination  obs  2a: a 
   class, order, or kind of persons  archaic  2b: SEX {so is all her ~ -Shak.} 
    3a: a group adhering to a distinctive doctrine or to a leader  3b: PARTY  
   3c: FACTION