Definition of "fascicle"

fascicle

/ˈfæs.ɪ.kəl/

noun
plural fascicles
1. A bundle or cluster.
2. (anatomy) A bundle of skeletal muscle fibers surrounded by connective tissue.
3. (botany) A cluster of flowers or leaves, such as the bundles of the thin leaves (or needles) of pines.
4. (botany) A discrete bundle of vascular tissue.
5. (publishing) A discrete section of a book issued or published separately.
  Quotations
  I was inspired to prepare fascicles like this by the example of Charles Dickens, who issued his novels in serial form; he published a dozen installments of Oliver Twist before having any idea what would become of Bill Sikes!
  2005, Donald E. Knuth, MMIX–A RISC Computer for the New Millennium (The Art of Computer Programming), volume 1, Addison-Wesley Professional, page iii
  The printed book appeared in a variety of forms during the course of its history in China. These included, among others, the “whirlwind” binding (xuanfeng zhuang), […] the “thread” binding (xianzhuang), a technical designation that refers to the silken or cotton filaments used to stitch together folded sheets of paper into fascicles.
  2005, Anne Burkus-Chasson, “Visual Hermeneutics and the Act of Turning the Leaf”, in Cynthia Joanne Brokaw, Kai-wing Chow, editors, Printing and Book Culture in Late Imperial China, University of California Press, page 371