parting n.

c. 1200, parten "to depart, leave;" late 13c., "cause (things, persons) to separate;" from Old French partir "to divide, separate" (10c.), from Latin partire/partiri "to share, part, distribute, divide," from pars "a part, piece, a share" (from PIE root *pere- (2) "to grant, allot").

Meaning "divide" (something), especially "divide by cutting or cleaving" is from c. 1300; that of "to share something" (with others) is from early 14c. Of persons, "to separate from one another," early 14c., also intransitive, "draw or hold (persons) apart, separate by intervening." Intransitive sense of "become disunited" is from early 14c.; that of "be divided or severed" is from 1570s. Meaning "to separate the hair, comb the hair away from a dividing line" is attested from 1610s. Related: Parted; parting. To part with "surrender" is from 1580s; earlier it meant "to share with" (mid-13c.).