equality

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˈkwɑ.lɪ.ti/; /ɪˈkwɒl.ɪ.ti/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English equalite, borrowed from Old French equalité (“equality, parity”),^[2][3][4] from Latin aequālitas (“equality, likeness”), from aequālis (“uniform, equal”) (see equal), from aequus (“level, even”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Evenness, smoothness or uniformity: 1398 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Equality of amount or number is from about 1400.^[2][5] Having equal dignity, rank or privileges with others is from about 1425,^[5] and in reference to rights and privileges Etymonline dates it from the 1520s.^[2] In mathematics an equality is a statement that two quantities are equal (1570).^[5][6] Modern French égalité has its form from the 17th century.^[2]

Timeline

• 1398 – evenness, uniformity.^[5]
• c. 1400 – equality of amount.^[5][2]
• c. 1425 – equality of rank.^[5]
• 1570 – in mathematics.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The state of being equal, especially in rights, status and opportunities: racial equality.
2. (mathematics) A statement that two quantities are equal; an equation.

Word family

• equalitarian

Related words

• equal
• equity
• equate
• inequality
• egalitarian

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin