[frak-shuh
n] 
| 1. | Mathematics.
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| 2. | Chemistry. (in a volatile mixture) a component whose range of boiling point temperatures allows it to be separated from other components by fractionation. |
| 3. | a part as distinct from the whole of anything; portion or section: The meeting started with a fraction of us present. |
| 4. | a very small part or segment of anything; minute portion: Only a fraction of the work was completed on time. |
| 5. | a very small amount; a little bit: It was only a fraction away from completion. |
| 6. | a piece broken off; fragment or bit. |
| 7. | the act of breaking. |
| 8. | Ecclesiastical. (in a Eucharistic service) the breaking of the Host. |
| 9. | to divide or break into fractions, sections, factions, etc.: Dissension threatens to fraction the powerful union. |
| frac·tion (frāk'shən) n.
[Middle English fraccioun, a breaking, from Anglo-Norman, from Late Latin frāctiō, frāctiōn-, from Latin frāctus, past participle of frangere, to break; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.] Word History: Our word fraction did not originally have a mathematical sense. It goes back ultimately to the Latin verb frangere, "to break." From the stem of the past participle frāctus is derived Late Latin frāctiō (stem frāctiōn-), "a breaking" or "a breaking in pieces," as in the breaking of the Eucharistic Host. In Medieval Latin the word frāctiō developed its mathematical sense, which was taken into Middle English along with the word. The earliest recorded sense of our word is "an aliquot part of a unit, a fraction or subdivision," found in a work by Chaucer written about 1400. One of the next recorded instances of the word recalls its origins, referring to the "brekying or fraccioun" of a bone. |
fraction frac·tion (frāk'shən)
n.
An expression that indicates the quotient of two quantities.
A chemical component separated by fractionation.
A disconnected piece; a fragment.
An aliquot portion or any portion.
fraction (frāk'shən) Pronunciation Key
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