fac·tion / ˈfakshən/ • n. a small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one, esp. in politics: the left-wing faction of the party. ∎  conflict within an organization; dissension.fac·tion² • n. a literary and cinematic genre in which real events are used as a basis for a fictional narrative or dramatization.

faction XVI. — (O)F. — L. factiō, -ōn-, f. facere DO1; see -TION, and cf. FASHION, in some senses of which this word was formerly used.
So factious XVI. — F. factieux or L. factiōsus.

Faction

a company of people acting together, of ten a contentious group; a set or class of people. See also cabal, clique, junta.

Examples: factions of collegians, monks, and canons, 1530; of evil, 1614; of fools, 1606.