fraction

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfræk.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman fraccioun, Old French fraccion, a breaking,^[2][3][4] from Late Latin frāctiō, a breaking, especially of bread in church,^[2][3][5] from frāct-, past participle stem of frangere, to break (see break).^[2][3][4] fragment is a doublet.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In mathematics, a quantity that is not a whole number: 1391, in Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe;^[2][3] the late 14th century in Hoad.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The American Heritage note observes that although the Babylonians knew mathematical fractions, the word itself goes back only to Latin.^[6] A breaking or dividing, of the heart, is from before 1410,^[2] and breaking in general from the early 15th century;^[3] the breaking of the bread in the Eucharist is from 1504.^[7] Discord or dissension is an obsolete sense of 1502.^[7] A piece broken off, a fragment, is first found in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida (1606).^[2][3] In chemistry, a fraction is a component separated by distillation.^[6][8] Fractional is from the 17th century, and fractious formed on the model of factious.^[4]

Timeline

• 1391 – a mathematical fraction.^[2]
• before 1410 – a breaking.^[2]
• 1504 – the fraction of the bread.^[7]
• 1606 – a fragment.^[2]
• 17th century – fractional.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (mathematics) A number that is not a whole number, such as ½ or 0.75; a ratio of two numbers.
2. A small part or amount: a fraction of the cost.
3. A fragment or piece.
4. (chemistry) A component of a mixture separated by distillation.

Word family

• fractional
• fractionalize
• fractionate
• fractionation
• fractionator
• fractionize
• subfraction
• common fraction

Related words

• fractal
• fractious
• fracture
• fragment
• frail
• frailty
• fragile
• frangible
• refract
• refractive
• refraction
• refractory
• refrangible
• refringent
• infract
• infraction
• infringe
• infringement
• infrangible
• break

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins