equity - Definitions from Dictionary.com

11 results for: equity

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

eq·ui·ty

Audio Help [ek-wi-tee] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -ties.

1.	the quality of being fair or impartial; fairness; impartiality: the equity of Solomon.

2.	something that is fair and just.

Law.

a.	the application of the dictates of conscience or the principles of natural justice to the settlement of controversies.

b.	a system of jurisprudence or a body of doctrines and rules developed in England and followed in the U.S., serving to supplement and remedy the limitations and the inflexibility of the common law.

c.	an equitable right or claim.

d.	an equity of redemption.

4.	the monetary value of a property or business beyond any amounts owed on it in mortgages, claims, liens, etc.

5.	Informal. ownership, esp. when considered as the right to share in future profits or appreciation in value.

6.	the interest of the owner of common stock in a corporation.

7.	(in a margin account) the excess of the market value of the securities over any indebtedness.

8.	(initial capital letter) Actors' Equity Association.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME equite < L aequitās. See equi-, -ty²

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
equity

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

eq·ui·ty Audio Help (ěk'wĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. eq·ui·ties

The state, quality, or ideal of being just, impartial, and fair.
Something that is just, impartial, and fair.
Law
1. Justice applied in circumstances covered by law yet influenced by principles of ethics and fairness.
2. A system of jurisprudence supplementing and serving to modify the rigor of common law.
3. An equitable right or claim.
4. Equity of redemption.
5. The market value of securities less any debt incurred.
6. Common stock and preferred stock.
The residual value of a business or property beyond any mortgage thereon and liability therein.
1. The market value of securities less any debt incurred.
2. Common stock and preferred stock.
Funds provided to a business by the sale of stock.

[Middle English equite, from Old French, from Latin aequitās, from aequus, even, fair.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
equity

c.1315, from O.Fr. equite, from L. æquitatem (nom. æquitas) "equality, conformity, symmetry, fairness," from æquus "even, just, equal." As the name of a system of law, 1591, from Roman naturalis æquitas, the general principles of justice which corrected or supplemented the legal codes.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

equity
noun
1.	the difference between the market value of a property and the claims held against it
2.	the ownership interest of shareholders in a corporation
3.	conformity with rules or standards; "the judge recognized the fairness of my claim" [syn: fairness] [ant: inequity]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
equity [ˈekwəti] noun

fairness; justice

Arabic:	إنْصاف، عَدالَه
Chinese (Simplified):	公平
Chinese (Traditional):	公平
Czech:	spravedlnost
Danish:	rimelighed; retfærdighed
Dutch:	billijkheid
Estonian:	õiglus
Finnish:	oikeudenmukaisuus
French:	équité
German:	die Billigkeit
Greek:	δοκαιοσύνη, δίκαιο
Hungarian:	jogosság
Icelandic:	sanngirni
Indonesian:	keadilan
Italian:	equità

Japanese:	公正
Korean:	공명 정대
Latvian:	taisnīgums; objektivitāte
Lithuanian:	teisingumas, nešališkumas
Norwegian:	rettferdighet
Polish:	sprawiedliwość
Portuguese (Brazil):	eqüidade
Portuguese (Portugal):	equidade
Romanian:	echitate
Russian:	справедливость
Slovak:	spravodlivosť
Slovenian:	pravica
Spanish:	equidad
Swedish:	rättvisa
Turkish:	adalet, insaf, hakkaniyet

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
equity

A body of rules or customs based on general principles of fair play rather than on common law or statutory law.

[Chapter:] World Politics

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
equity

In real estate, the financial value of someone's property over and above the amount the person owes on mortgages. For example, if you buy a house for $100,000, paying $20,000 down and borrowing $80,000, your equity in the house is $20,000. As you pay off the principal of the loan, your equity will rise.

[Chapter:] Business and Economics

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

Equity

1. Stock or any other security representing an ownership interest.

2. On the balance sheet, the amount of the funds contributed by the owners (the stockholders) plus the retained earnings (or losses). Also referred to as "shareholder's equity".

3. In the context of margin trading, the value of securities in a margin account minus what has been borrowed from the brokerage.

4. In the context of real estate, the difference between the current market value of the property and the amount the owner still owes on the mortgage. Thus, it is the amount, if any, the owner would receive after selling a property and paying off the mortgage.

Investopedia Commentary

Equity is a term whose meaning depends very much on the context. In general, you can think of equity as ownership in any asset after all debts associated with that asset are paid off. For example, a car or house with no outstanding debt is considered the owner's equity since he or she can readily sell the items for cash. Stocks are equity because they represent ownership of a company, whereas bonds are classified as debt because they represent an obligation to pay and not ownership of assets.

Wallstreet Words - Cite This Source - Share This
equity

In a brokerage account, the market value of securities minus the amount borrowed. Equity is particularly important for margin accounts, for which minimum standards must bemet.
Stock, both common and preferred. For example, an investor may prefer investing in equities instead of in bonds. Also called equitysecurity.
In accounting, funds contributed by stockholders through direct payment and through retained earnings. See also owners'equity.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: eq·ui·ty
Pronunciation: 'e-kw&-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
Etymology: Latin aequitat-aequitas fairness, justice, from aequus equal, fair
1 a : justice according to fairness esp. as distinguished from mechanical application of rules <prompted byconsiderations of equity> <comity between nations, and equity require it to be paid for —Federal Reporter A. Magruder> b : something that is equitable: an instance of equity <the inequities produced by the system are outnumbered by the equities>
2 a : a system of law originating in the English chancery andcomprising a settled and formal body of substantive and procedural rules and doctrines that supplement, aid, or override common and statutory law <the judicial power shall extend to all cases, inlaw and equity, arising under this Constitution —U.S. Constitution article III> —see also CHANCERY—compare COMMON LAW, LAW
NOTE: The courts ofequity arose in England from a need to provide relief for claims that did not conform to the writ system existing in the courts of law. Originally, the courts of equity exercised great discretion infashioning remedies. Over time, they established precedents, rules, and doctrines of their own that were distinct from those used in the courts of law. Although for a time the courts of equity rivaledthe law courts in power, the law courts maintained an advantage partly as a result of forcing the equity courts to hear only those cases for which there was no adequate remedy at law. The courts of lawand equity were united in England in 1873. Courts of equity also developed in the United States, but in most states and in the federal system courts of law and courts of equity have been joined. Thecourts apply both legal and equitable principles and offer both legal and equitable relief, although generally equitable relief is still granted when there is no adequate remedy at law. b: the principles that developed in the courts of equity : justice in accordance with equity <equity treats a devisee who procures a will by fraud as a constructive trustee—W. M. McGovern, Junior et al.>; also : justice in accordance with natural law c : a court of equity <sat alone for some time in equity —O.W. Holmes, Junior>
3 : a body of doctrines and rules developed to enlarge, supplement, or override any narrow or rigid system of law
4 a : a right, claim, orinterest existing or valid in equity b : the money value of a property or of an interest in property in excess of any claims or liens (as mortgage indebtedness) against it c: a risk interest or ownership right in property; specifically : the ownership interests of shareholders in a company d : the common stock of a corporation—compare ASSET, DEBT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Equity

Court\ (k?rt), n. [OF. court, curt, cort, F. co?r, LL. cortis, fr. L. cohors, cors, chors, gen. cohortis, cortis, chortis, an inclosure, court, thing inclosed, crowd, throng; co- + a root akin to Gr. ???? inclosure, feeding place, and to E. garden, yard, orchard. See Yard, and cf. Cohort, Curtain.]

1. An inclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different building; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.

The courts the house of our God. --Ps. cxxxv. 2.

And round the cool green courts there ran a row Cf cloisters. --Tennyson.

Goldsmith took a garret in a miserable court. --Macaulay.

2. The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or ether dignitary; a palace.

Attends the emperor in his royal court. --Shak.

This our court, infected with their manners, Shows like a riotous inn. --Shak.

3. The collective body of persons composing the retinue of a sovereign or person high in authority; all the surroundings of a sovereign in his regal state.

My lord, there is a nobleman of the court at door would speak with you. --Shak.

Love rules the court, the camp, the grove. --Sir. W. Scott.

4. Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign; as, to hold a court.

The princesses held their court within the fortress. --Macaulay.

5. Attention directed to a person in power; conduct or address designed to gain favor; courtliness of manners; civility; compliment; flattery.

No solace could her paramour intreat Her once to show, ne court, nor dalliance. --Spenser.

I went to make my court to the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle. --Evelyn.

6. (Law) (a) The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered. (b) The persons officially assembled under authority of law, at the appropriate time and place, for the administration of justice; an official assembly, legally met together for the transaction of judicial business; a judge or judges sitting for the hearing or trial of causes. (c) A tribunal established for the administration of justice. (d) The judge or judges; as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both.

Most heartily I do beseech the court To give the judgment. --Shak.

7. The session of a judicial assembly.

8. Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.

9. A place arranged for playing the game of tennis; also, one of the divisions of a tennis court.

Christian court, the English ecclesiastical courts in the aggregate, or any one of them.

Court breeding, education acquired at court.

Court card. Same as Coat card.

Court circular, one or more paragraphs of news respecting the sovereign and the royal family, together with the proceedings or movements of the court generally, supplied to the newspapers by an officer specially charged with such duty. [Eng.] --Edwards.

Court day, a day on which a court sits to administer justice.

Court dress, the dress prescribed for appearance at the court of a sovereign.

Court fool, a buffoon or jester, formerly kept by princes and nobles for their amusement.

Court guide, a directory of the names and adresses of the nobility and gentry in a town.

Court hand, the hand or manner of writing used in records and judicial proceedings. --Shak.

Court lands (Eng. Law), lands kept in demesne, -- that is, for the use of the lord and his family.

Court marshal, one who acts as marshal for a court.

Court party, a party attached to the court.

Court rolls, the records of a court. SeeRoll.

Court in banc, or Court in bank, The full court sitting at its regular terms for the hearing of arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at nisi prius.

Court of Arches, audience, etc. See under Arches, Audience, etc.

Court of Chancery. See Chancery, n.

Court of Common pleas. (Law) See Common pleas, under Common.

Court of Equity. See under Equity, and Chancery.

Court of Inquiry (Mil.), a court appointed to inquire into and report on some military matter, as the conduct of an officer.

Court of St. James, the usual designation of the British Court; -- so called from the old palace of St. James, which is used for the royal receptions, levees, and drawing-rooms.

The court of the Lord, the temple at Jerusalem; hence, a church, or Christian house of worship.

General Court, the legislature of a State; -- so called from having had, in the colonial days, judicial power; as, the General Court of Massachusetts. [U.S.]

To pay one's court, to seek to gain favor by attentions. "Alcibiades was assiduous in paying his court to Tissaphernes." --Jowett.

To put out of court, to refuse further judicial hearing.

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