Definition of fraction

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< fracted

fractional >

frac·tion    (frkshn) KEY 

NOUN:

1. Mathematics An expression that indicates the quotient of two quantities, such as ¹/₃ .
2. A disconnected piece; a fragment.
3. A small part; a bit: moved a fraction of a step.
4. A chemical component separated by fractionation.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English fraccioun, a breaking, from Anglo-Norman, from Late Latin frcti, frctin-, from Latin frctus, 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 frctus is derived Late Latin frcti (stem frctin-), "a breaking" or "a breaking in pieces," as in the breaking of the Eucharistic Host. In Medieval Latin the word frcti 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.