Fragmenterar

Fragmenterar is a Swedish verb meaning to fragment or to cause something to be divided into smaller parts. It can be used both in a literal sense, about breaking material into pieces, and in a figurative sense, about dividing a system, group, or process. The present tense form is fragmenterar; the infinitive is fragmentera; the past tense fragmenterade; the supine and past participle fragmenterat. The noun fragment and the process noun fragmentering are closely related. The etymology traces back to the noun fragment, which in turn derives from Latin fragmentum.

Fields where fragmentering is discussed include ecology, information technology, and engineering. In ecology and land-use planning, habitat fragmentation describes the division of continuous habitats by roads, farms, or developments, which can reduce connectivity and biodiversity. In IT, memory fragmentation refers to free memory being broken into noncontiguous blocks, reducing allocation efficiency; disk fragmentation concerns files stored in noncontiguous sectors, affecting read performance. In mining and materials science, fragmentation refers to breaking ore or rock into smaller pieces, for example by blasting or grinding. In marketing and media, fragmentation denotes the division of audiences or markets into smaller, heterogeneous segments.

See also fragment, fragmentation. The term fragmenterar is the present form; fragmenterande is the present participle (fragmenterande).