segmento

Segmento is a term used in several languages, most notably Spanish and Portuguese, meaning a part of something bounded by defined limits. In English texts it is often translated as segment. The word is used across disciplines to denote a distinct portion, unit, or section within a larger whole.

In geometry, a segment is the part of a line bounded by two endpoints. It has a finite length and is contained entirely on a single line. A segment differs from a ray, which extends indefinitely in one direction, and from a line, which has no endpoints. The segment addition postulate states that if a point lies between the endpoints of two segments on the same line, the lengths add.

In biology, segment refers to a body unit repeated along the body plan, as in annelids and arthropods. In vertebrates, segments can refer to somites in early development, or to clearly delineated anatomical regions like thoracic and abdominal segments.

In linguistics, a segment is a discrete unit of sound or phoneme that forms part of a word, with segments combining to form syllables and words.

In computing, a memory segment is a contiguous block of address space managed by a segmentation scheme, featuring a base address and a limit. Segmentation has been used in various architectures to provide isolation and protection.

In marketing, segmento de mercado (market segment) denotes a group of customers sharing similar characteristics or needs, enabling targeted product, pricing, and communication strategies.

Segmento also appears in other fields, such as media and education, where a segment may refer to a portion of a program, curriculum unit, or data subset.