subdivisiveadj.
/ˌsʌbdᵻˈvʌɪsɪv/, /ˈsʌbdᵻˌvʌɪsɪv/, U.S. /ˈˌsəbdəˈˌvaɪsɪv/, /ˈˌsəbdɪˈˌvɪzɪv/ Of the nature of a subdivision; resulting from or characterized by subdivision; (later also) creating or tending to create (a) subdivision.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > action of dividing or divided condition > [adjective] > divided > subdivided > involving or resulting from subdivision
subdividual1716
subdivisive1832
1832 R. Chambers & W. Chambers Gazetteer Scotl. II. 541/2 Some clans were broken down into certain subdivisive septs, which were headed by chieftains.
1847 J. M. Wilson Rural Cycl. I. 814/1 Its stems usually attain a height of about 20 feet... Its ramifications are so numerous and subdivisive as to overtop and cover hedges.
a1856 W. Hamilton Lect. Metaphysics (1860) IV. xxv. 23 When a whole is divided into its parts, these parts may..be themselves still connected multiplicities; and if these are again divided, there results a subdivision (subdivisio), the several parts of which are called the subdivisive members (membra subdividentia).
1912 H. T. Peck Standard Illustr. Bk. Facts 39/1 The most powerful of the red people were the Iroquois whose subdivisive and tribal arrangements showed a high order of capacity for civilized organization.
1967 Bot. Rev. 33 170 Reviewing the basic methods of classification, [Lambert and Dale] comment that subdivisive methods are to be preferred on theoretical grounds.
1997 N. Silver Making of Beauborg (ed. 2) vii. 159 The furniture would become crucial, because there would be almost no partitions, hangings, or other subdivisive tricks to define space.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1832