secta

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin secta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈse̞k.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central) [ˈsɛk.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈsɛk.ta]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

secta f (plural sectes)

1. sect

Latin

Etymology 1

Participle

secta

1. inflection of sectus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Participle

sectā

1. ablative feminine singular of sectus

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sek-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *sékh₁yeti

Proto-Italic *sekaō

Latin secō

Latin sectus

Latin secta

Probably from sectus (“cut off, amputated, divided”), perfect passive participle of secō, as in a distinct, separate body or group (e.g., a religious, political, or philosophical sect). See also the expression "secāre viam" ("take one's way, travel"). Another possibility is a derivation from sequor, sequī (“to follow”), past participle secūtus.

Noun

secta f (genitive sectae); first declension

1. a trodden or beaten way, pathway, mode, manner, method, principle
2. a body of political principles, party, side, faction
3. (philosophy) a doctrine, school, sect

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	secta	sectae
genitive	sectae	sectārum
dative	sectae	sectīs
accusative	sectam	sectās
ablative	sectā	sectīs
vocative	secta	sectae

Descendants

• → Catalan: secta
• → Galician: seita
• → Italian: setta
• → Portuguese: seita
• → Romanian: sectă
• → Spanish: secta
• → Old French: secte, siecte, sette
  • French: secte
  • Norman: secte (Jersey)
  • → Middle English: secte
    • English: sect
    • Scots: sect, seck

References

• “secta”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “secta”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "secta", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “secta”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) a sect, school of thought: schola, disciplina, familia; secta
    
  • (ambiguous) to be a follower, disciple of some one: sectam alicuius sequi (Brut. 31. 120)
    

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sek-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *sékh₁yeti

Proto-Italic *sekaō

Latin secō

Latin sectus

Latin sectalbor.

Spanish secta

Learned borrowing from Latin secta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɡta/ [ˈseɣ̞.t̪a]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɡta
• Syllabification: sec‧ta

Noun

secta f (plural sectas)

1. sect
2. cult

   Synonym: culto

3. (Internet slang) a style of profiles on tiktok that users can follow

Related terms

• sectaria f
• sectario m
• sectarismo m

Further reading

• “secta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026