1650s, in Blount, "a cutting in small pieces," a sense now obsolete. In modern use, "act of dividing or state of being divided in segments," by 1851 in reference to cells, from segment (v.) + -ation.
Entries linking to segmentation
segment v.
1859 (implied in segmented), "divide or become divided into segments," in reference to cell division, from segment (n.). Transitive sense, "divide (something) into segments" is from 1872. Related: Segmenting.