moiety

Meaning

1. A half.
2. A share or portion, especially a smaller share.
3. Each descent group in a culture which is divided exactly into two descent groups.
4. A specific segment of a molecule.

Concepts

moiety

half

mediety

share

part

component

leg

middle

one half

half stock

leaf

limb

one-half

functional group

Hyphenated as

moi‧e‧ty

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmɔɪ.ə.ti/

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French moytié, from Old French meitié (“half”) (modern French moitié (“half”)), from Late Latin medietās (“centre, midpoint; half”), from Latin medius (“half; middle”) + -tās (from Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts (“suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being”)). Medius is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”), possibly from *me-dʰi- (“among; with”), from *me (“in the middle of; among; with”). The word is a doublet of mediety.