MOIETY: "a portion, or half"

By MsW


Word of the Day Archive Thursday May 8, 2008 moiety \MOY-uh-tee\,
noun:
1. One of two equal parts; a half.

2. An indefinite part; a small portion or share.

3. One of two basic tribal subdivisions.

 

Tom divided the cake and Becky ate with good appetite, while Tom nibbled at his moiety. -- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Cut off from news at home, fearful of a blood bath, anxious to salvage a moiety of the reform program, the Prague leadership accepted Moscow's diktat. -- Karl E. Meyer, "Pangloss in Prague", New York Times, June 27, 1993
Barunga society is sharply divided into two complementary, descent-based branches (a structure anthropologists call "moiety"), which permeate relationships, spirituality, and many other aspects of life. -- Claire Smith, "Art of The Dreaming", Discovering Archaeology, March/April 2000
Moiety comes from Old French meitiet, from Late Latin medietas, from Latin medius, "middle." Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for moiety


 

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