Wiktionary

fraction

See also: Fraction

English edit

 
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Etymology edit

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

Pronunciation edit

  • enPR: frăkʹshən, IPA(key): /ˈfɹæk.ʃən/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Hyphenation: frac‧tion
  • Rhymes: -ækʃən

Noun edit

fraction (plural fractions)

  1. A part of a whole, especially a comparatively small part.
    • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page vii:
      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 […]
  2. (arithmetic) A ratio of two numbers (numerator and denominator), usually written one above the other and separated by a horizontal bar called the vinculum or, alternatively, in sequence on the same line and separated by a solidus (diagonal bar).
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fraction
  3. (chemistry) A component of a mixture, separated by fractionation.
  4. (Christianity) In a eucharistic service, the breaking of the host.
    • a. 1668, Jeremy Taylor, “The History of the Life and Death of the Holy Jesus: Discourse XIX.”, in Reginald Heber, editor, The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D.D. […], volume III, London: Ogle, Duncan, and Co. […]; and Richard Priestley, […], published 1822, →OCLC, page 290:
      […] 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.
  5. A small amount.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […] , and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.
    • 2011 January 29, Chris Bevan, “Torquay 0-1 Crawley Town”, in BBC:
      After kick-off was delayed because of crowd congestion, Torquay went closest to scoring in a cagey opening 30 minutes, when Danny Stevens saw a fierce shot from the edge of the area swerve a fraction wide.
  6. (archaic) The act of breaking, or state of being broken, especially by violence.

Usage notes edit

  • Can be used with either countable or uncountable nouns; however, the word fraction takes the number of the noun it is paired with.
    • If used with a plural countable noun, it needs to take a plural verb.
    • If used with a singular countable noun or an uncountable noun, it needs to take a singular verb.

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb edit

fraction (third-person singular simple present fractions, present participle fractioning, simple past and past participle fractioned)

  1. To divide or break into fractions.

Translations edit

References edit

Anagrams edit

French edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Old French fraction, borrowed from Latin fractiōnem.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

fraction f (plural fractions)

  1. fraction (small amount)
    Je me suis endormi pendant une fraction de secondes. ― I fell asleep for a fraction of a second.
  2. (mathematics) fraction
    En divisant deux par trois, on obtient une fraction irréductible. ― When dividing two by three, you get an irreducible fraction.
  3. fraction, breakup

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Descendants edit

  • → Romanian: fracțiune
  • → Turkish: fraksiyon

Further reading edit

Anagrams edit

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