fraction

Definition

A part of a whole, especially a comparatively small part.

Etymology

Etymology tree Middle English fraccioun English fraction From Middle English fraccioun (“a breaking”), from Anglo-Norman, Old French fraccion, from Medieval Latin fractio (“a fragment, portion”), from earlier Latin fractio (“a breaking, a breaking into pieces”), from fractus, past participle of frangere (“to break”) (whence English frangible), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (English break). Doublet of frazione.

Example Sentences

• "With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get[…]"
• "Gasoline prices show the mill as a fraction, for example $3.59+⁹⁄₁₀."
• "[…] The bread, when it is consecrated and made sacramental, is the body of our Lord; and the fraction and distribution of it is the communication of that body, which died for us upon the cross."

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