portion

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈpɔː.ʃən/, US /ˈpɔːr.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English porcioun, borrowed from Old French porcion (“part, portion”),^[2][3] and directly from Latin portiō (“share, part”),^[2][3][4] a noun that was at first found only in the phrase prō portiōne “according to the relation of parts to each other”,^[3][5][6] probably from *partiō “division”, related to pars “part”,^[2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *pere- (“to grant, allot”).^[2] It is related to proportion, part and apportion.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The part of something allotted to one person, a share: before 1300 in the OED,^[7] before 1325 in Barnhart, in Cursor Mundi,^[3] the early 14th century in Etymonline,^[2] where it also meant one's lot or fate.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

A part of any whole, not necessarily allotted, is from 1340, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[7][2] An heir's share of an estate is from before 1340,^[7] and a dowry or marriage portion from 1511.^[7] A helping of food enough for one person is from 1484.^[7] The verb, to divide into shares, is from before 1338, in Mannyng,^[3] and the sense “to give a dowry” is from 1712.^[7]

Timeline

• a. 1300 – a share.^[7]
• a. 1325 – one's lot or fate.^[7]
• a. 1338 – verb, to divide into shares.^[3]
• 1340 – a part of a whole.^[7]
• 1484 – a helping of food.^[7]
• 1511 – a dowry.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A part of something larger.
2. An amount of food for one person; a helping.
3. A share given to a person or group.
4. (archaic) A dowry, or the part of an estate an heir receives.
5. (literary) One's lot or fate.

Verb

1. To divide into parts or shares; to apportion.

Word family

• portionable
• portioner
• portionless
• preportion
• reportion

Related words

• proportion
• part
• apportion

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press