They're talking about MySQL specifically, not databases in the abstract. Sure, yeah, you can call anything "paritioning" in a general sense when it comes to dat

They're talking about MySQL specifically, not databases in the abstract. Sure, yeah, you can call anything "paritioning" in a general sense when it comes to data storage, including building a physical wall between your database servers, or adding dividers to your shoebox full of recipe cards. Here's a more relevant link. https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/partitioning.html https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/partitioning.html It's like if you had a MySQL table that contained some sort of metadata that helped you find other data more quickly. Would you call that table an "index?" I mean, yeah, sure, it's an index (in the abstract sense of the word) but that would be awfully confusing in in the context of a MySQL database since it already has a pretty specific meaning there.