equity
equity Lexical Profile
equity Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The quality of being fair, impartial, and just in treatment or resource allocation.
"The school district implemented new funding policies to promote educational equity across all neighborhoods."
The net value of a mortgaged property or asset after deducting all debts and liabilities owed on it.
"After paying down their mortgage for ten years, the homeowners had built up substantial equity in their house."
The value of the shares issued by a company, or ownership interest in a business (often used in the plural to mean stocks and shares that carry no fixed interest).
"The founder offered early employees a small percentage of equity in the startup alongside their base salaries."
A branch of law developed alongside common law to provide fair remedies and natural justice in situations where strict application of common law rules would be overly rigid or harsh.
"In Anglo-American jurisprudence, remedies such as injunctions and specific performance originated in courts of equity rather than courts of common law."
Word Nuance & Usage
In social policy and ethics, 'equity' is often distinguished from 'equality': equality means giving everyone the exact same resources, whereas equity means allocating resources fairly according to each individual's specific circumstances and needs to achieve equal opportunity.
• Rhymes for equity
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 14th century from Old French 'equite', from Latin 'aequitas' (evenness, fairness, justice), derived from 'aequus' meaning 'even, level, or fair'.