Moiety

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Moiety \Moi"e*ty\ (moi"[-e]*t[y^]), n.; pl. {Moieties}
     (moi"[-e]*t[i^]z). [F. moiti['e], L. medietas, fr. medius
     middle, half. See {Mid}, a., and cf. {Mediate}, {Mediety}.]
     1. One of two equal parts; a half; as, a moiety of an estate,
        of goods, or of profits; the moiety of a jury, or of a
        nation. --Shak.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              The more beautiful moiety of his majesty's subject.
                                                    --Addison.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. An indefinite part; a small part. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Residue \Res"i*due\ (r?z"?-d?), n. [F. r['e]sidu, L. residuum,
     fr. residuus that is left behind, remaining, fr. residere to
     remain behind. See {Reside}, and cf. {Residuum}.]
     1. That which remains after a part is taken, separated,
        removed, or designated; remnant; remainder.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The residue of them will I deliver to the sword.
                                                    --Jer. xv. 9.
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              If church power had then prevailed over its victims,
              not a residue of English liberty would have been
              saved.                                --I. Taylor.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Law) That part of a testeator's estate wwhich is not
        disposed of in his will by particular and special legacies
        and devises, and which remains after payment of debts and
        legacies.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Chem.) That which remains of a molecule after the removal
        of a portion of its constituents; hence, an atom or group
        regarded as a portion of a molecule; a {moiety} or
        {group}; -- used as nearly equivalent to {radical}, but in
        a more general sense.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     Note: The term radical is sometimes restricted to groups
           containing carbon, the term residue and {moiety} being
           applied to the others.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Theory of Numbers) Any positive or negative number that
        differs from a given number by a multiple of a given
        modulus; thus, if 7 is the modulus, and 9 the given
        number, the numbers -5, 2, 16, 23, etc., are residues.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Rest; remainder; remnant; balance; residuum; remains;
          leavings; relics.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  moiety
       n 1: one of two (approximately) equal parts [syn: {mediety}]
       2: one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  118 Moby Thesaurus words for "moiety":
     allotment, allowance, ashram, big end, bigger half, bisection, bit,
     bite, body, budget, butt, caste, chip, chunk, clan, class, clip,
     clipping, collop, colony, commission, commonwealth, commune,
     community, contingent, crumb, cut, cutting, deal, destiny,
     dividend, division, dole, dollop, economic class, end,
     endogamous group, equal share, equidistance, extended family,
     family, fate, fifty percent, fifty-fifty, fragment, gens, gob,
     gobbet, half, half-and-half, halfway house, halver, helping,
     hemisphere, hunk, interest, kinship group, lot, lump, measure,
     mediety, meed, member, mess, mid-distance, midcourse,
     middle distance, midway, modicum, morsel, nuclear family, order,
     parcel, paring, part, particle, percentage, phratria, phratry,
     phyle, piece, portion, proportion, quantum, quota, rake-off,
     rasher, ration, scoop, scrap, section, segment, semicircle,
     semisphere, settlement, shard, share, shaving, shiver, shred,
     slice, sliver, small share, smithereen, snack, snatch, snip,
     snippet, social class, society, splinter, stake, stitch, stock,
     stump, subcaste, tatter, totem
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  MOIETY. The half of anything; as, if a testator bequeath one moiety of his 
  estate to A, and the other to B, each shall take an equal part. Joint 
  tenants are said to hold by moieties. Lit. 125; 3 M. G. & S. 274, 283