fissiparous

adjective

fis·​sip·​a·​rous fi-ˈsi-p(ə-)rəs 

: tending to break or split up into parts : divisive

fissiparous tendencies within a political party

fissiparousness noun

Did you know?

When it first entered English in the 19th century, "fissiparous" was concerned with reproduction. In biology, a fissiparous organism is one that produces new individuals by fission; that is, by dividing into separate parts, each of which becomes a unique organism. (Most strains of bacteria do this.) Fissiparous derives from Latin fissus, the past participle of "findere" ("to split"), and parere, meaning "to give birth to or "to produce." Other "parere" offspring refer to other forms of reproduction, including "oviparous" ("producing eggs that hatch outside the body") and "viviparous" ("producing living young instead of eggs"). By the end of the 19th century "fissiparous" had acquired a figurative meaning, describing something that breaks into parts or causes something else to break into parts.

Examples of fissiparous in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This isn’t to deny that a fight over principle is in many ways admirable, or that the fissiparous tendencies demonstrated by conservatives in the last few years have been driven by big, important changes in wider political and social conditions. —Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin fissiparus "reproducing by fission," from Latin fissus, past participle of findere "to split, cleave" + -i- -i- + -parus -parous — more at bite entry 1

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

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Medical Definition

fissiparous

adjective

fis·​sip·​a·​rous fis-ˈip-ə-rəs 

: producing new biological units or individuals by fission