Relating to or organized into separate compartments or sections; of or relating to division into distinct parts.
From 'compartment' + '-al' (suffix forming adjectives). 'Compartment' comes from Middle French 'compartiment,' derived from Latin 'compartiri.' The adjective form emerged to describe things organized in this manner.
Psychology borrowed 'compartmental thinking' to describe how people can hold contradictory beliefs by keeping them in separate mental 'boxes'—a fascinating and sometimes problematic human tendency.
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