inequality

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌɪn.ɪˈkwɒl.ə.ti/, US /ˌɪn.ɪˈkwɑː.lə.t̬i/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French inequalité and directly Medieval Latin inaequālitās,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin inaequālis (“unequal, unlike, changeable”), from in- (“not”) and aequālis (“equal”) (see equal).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Difference of rank or dignity: probably before 1425 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline, 1484 in the OED.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Inequality of size, number or intensity is from 1531.^[7][3] Uneven distribution is from 1538,^[7] superiority or inferiority from 1553,^[7] and an irregularity of surface from 1607.^[7] In mathematics an inequality is a statement that two quantities are not equal.^[8]

Timeline

• probably before 1425 – inequality.^[2]
• 1484 – social disparity.^[7]
• 1531 – of size or number.^[7]
• 1607 – unevenness of surface.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The state of being unequal; disparity.
2. An instance of disparity.
3. Social or economic disparity, as of opportunity or status.
4. Lack of smoothness or regularity.
5. (mathematics) A statement that one quantity is not equal to another, as x > y.

Related words

• equal
• equality
• unequal
• iniquity

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins