apart

n. [ Afrikaans, fr. D. apart apart + -heid -hood. ] 1. segregation by race; -- a term used in South Africa.
Syn. -- racial segregation [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. the official policy of strict segregation by race practised by the government of the Union of South Africa up to 1993. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. appartement; cf. It. appartamento, fr. appartare to separate, set apart; all fr. L. ad + pars, partis, part. See Apart. ] 1. A room in a building; a division in a house, separated from others by partitions. Fielding. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A set or suite of rooms. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A compartment. [ Obs. ] Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A room or suite of rooms in a building comprising a dwelling unit separate from others in the building, and typically having its own separate bath, sanitary, and kitchen facilities. Such apartments are in most cases rented from the owner by those dwelling in them. [ PJC ]

efficiency apartment, a small apartment{ 4 }, sometimes furnished, with minimal kitchen and bath facilities. The unit may comprise a single room plus a bathroom, and the kitchen facilities are often open to the main room, or may form a small niche in a corner. There are many variations of efficiency apartment, including some in which furnishings such as a bed may be pull out from a wall recess and stored there again when not in use. Also called an efficiency. [ PJC ]

. A building comprising a number of lving units (apartments{ 4 }) designed for separate housekeeping tenements, but having conveniences, such as heat, light, elevator service, etc., furnished in common; contrasted to a detached dwelling. Sometimes distinguished in the United States from a flat house, in which each living unit comprises one entire floor, whereas in an apartment house a floor may be partitioned into any number of apartments{ 4 }. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]