Department

n. [Fr. département, O. Fr. département, from départir; Pr. département, departement, It. dipartimento, Sp. departimiento, departamento. See DEPART.]

1. Act of departing; departure. [Obs.] “Sudden departments from one extreme to another.” Wotton.
2. A part, portion, or subdivision.
3. A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like; appointed sphere or walk; province. “Superior to Pope in Pope’s own peculiar department of literature.” Macaulay.
4. Subdivision of business or official duty; especially, one of the principal divisions of executive government; as, the treasury department, the war department; also, in a university, one of the divisions of instruction; as, the medical department, the department of physics, and the like.
5. Territorial division; province; especially, in France, one of the districts into which the country is divided for governmental purposes; as, the department of the Loire.
6. A military subdivision of a country; as, the department of the Potomac, &c.