equality
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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
- The state of being equal, especially in rights, status and opportunities: racial equality.
- (mathematics) A statement that two quantities are equal; an equation.
Word family
- equalitarian
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ 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
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin