bifurcation

IPA: bɪfɝkˈeɪʃʌn

(biology) A division into two branches.
(by extension) Any place where one thing divides into two.
The act of bifurcating; branching or dividing in two.
Either of the forks or other branches resultant from such a division.
(geography) A place where two roads, tributaries etc. part or meet.
(nautical) The point where a channel divides when proceeding from seaward.
(mathematics) The change in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family as described by bifurcation theory.
(computer science) A command that executes one block or other of commands depending on the result of a condition.

Examples of "bifurcation" in Sentences

This separation, known as bifurcation, means that the entity that purchased and allegedly holds the note does not have the legal rights contained in the mortgage.
Case in point, the Chrome/Android bifurcation is as much a statement of the way products are built at Google as something elemental to mobile, mobility, tablets, netbooks and web apps.
The dôm palm must bifurcate, for bifurcation is the law of its being; but I could never discover whether there was any fixed limit to the number of stems into which it might subdivide.
His blog contains "Essays and articles about IT and Indian English," and in the latter category is an entry about the word bifurcation:Bifurcation is one my favorite words in the English language...
[Footnote: Some geographical writers apply the term bifurcation exclusively to this intercommunication of rivers; others, with more etymological propriety, use it to express the division of great rivers into branches at the head of their deltas.
What convinces me of the reality of the national bifurcation is the commentary on Barack Obama’s first few months in office (just short of four de jure, about six de facto, since the outgoing Administration, in contrast to its predecessor, made no trouble for the incoming one).