fractal

Etymology

From French fractal, from Latin fractus (“broken”), perfect passive participle of frangō (“break, fragment”).

noun

1. (mathematics) A mathematical set that has a non-integer and constant Hausdorff dimension; a geometric figure that is self-similar at all scales.
2. (figurative) An object, system, or idea that exhibits a fractal-like property.
   In essence, you are assuming that each segment of a company is a fractal of the whole[…] 1999, John J. McGonagle, Carolyn M. Vella, The Internet Age of Competitive Intelligence

adj

1. (mathematics) Having the form of a fractal.
   Romanesco was my gateway cauli and I've never stopped growing it. Not a variety as much as its own thing, Romanesco is a cauliflower to the French, a calabrese to the Italians. […] Visually, it may be the most remarkable thing you can grow: it is made up of lime-green mini-spirals that coil around themselves in fractal formation. 26 January 2015, Mark Diacono, “How to grow and cook cauliflower, 2015's trendiest veg: Tricky to grow, boring to boil ... so why is the outmoded cauliflower back at the culinary cutting edge? [print version: Cauliflower power, 24 January 2015, pp. G1 & G3]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)
2. (figurative) Exhibiting a fractal-like property.
   A fractal situation emerges in this way then: the consequences of Ulysses' decision to abandon Calypso are not entirely predictable. 2007, Vincent Spina, “Three Central American writers: alone between two cultures”, in Carlota Caulfield, Darién J. Davis, editors, Companion to United States Latino Literatures
   2020, Frank E. Zachos, Les Christidis, Stephen Garnett, “The Tree of Life, however, is an encaptic system displaying a nested hierarchy with a fractal pattern (lineages within lineages).”, in Mammalia, volume 84, number 1, page 2:
3. (heraldry) Having a broken part.