equity means fairness, impartiality, or justice as determined in light of "natural law" or "natural right".
equity is pronounced /ˈɛk.wɪ.ti/.
Why “equity” is a great word
Equity is the application of fairness and justice, especially as a system of jurisprudence that corrects or supplements the common law when its strict application would be unjust. Its lineage traces from Latin *aequus* ('even, fair') through *aequitas* to Old French *equité*, arriving in Middle English as *equitee*. Unlike 'equality,' which insists on identical treatment, or 'law,' which offers codified rules applied uniformly, equity adjusts the scales to account for individual circumstance. It is the chancellor's measured discretion, the tailored remedy where damages are insufficient, and the injunction that prevents a harm no statute could foresee—a quiet insistence that the map of justice must sometimes be redrawn to fit the actual terrain of human need.
Etymology
From Middle English equitee, equytee, from Old French equité, from Latin aequitās (“uniformity; impartiality; fairness”).
noun
- Fairness, impartiality, or justice as determined in light of "natural law" or "natural right".
- Various related senses originating with the Court of Chancery in late Medieval England; The power of a court of law having extra-statutory discretion, to decide legal matters and to provide legal relief apart from, though not in violation of, the prevailing legal code; in some cases, a court "sitting in equity" may provide relief to a complainant should the code be found either inapplicable or insufficient to do so.e.g.“1800, Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon in Mayor, &c. of Southampton v. Graves (1800), 8 T. R. 592.
A Court of equity knows its own province.”
- Various related senses originating with the Court of Chancery in late Medieval England; A right which accrues to a party in a transaction because of the nature of the transaction itself, and which is exercisable upon a change of circumstances or conditions; in other words, an equitable claim.
- Various related senses originating with the Court of Chancery in late Medieval England; The body of law which was developed in the English Court of Chancery, which Court had extra-statutory discretion, and is now administered alongside the common law of Britain.
- Various senses related to net value; Value of property minus liens or other encumbrances.e.g.“I have a lot of equity in my house.”
- Various senses related to net value; Ownership, especially in terms of net monetary value of some business.
- Various senses related to net value; Ownership interest in a company as determined by subtracting liabilities from assets.
- Various senses related to net value; A player's expected share of the pot.
- Equalitye.g.“What steps the Government are taking to help ensure equity of opportunity for people from low-income families.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- impartiality 86% match — The quality of being impartial; fairness. vs equity →
- evenhood 84% match — Equality; equity; justice. vs equity →
- estoppel 83% match — A legal principle in the law of equity that prevents a party from asserting otherwise valid legal rights against another party because of conduct by the first party, or circumstances to which the first party has knowingly contributed, making it unjust for those rights to be asserted. vs equity →
- redress 83% match — To put in order again; to set right; to revise. vs equity →
- rightness 83% match — The characteristic of being right; correctness. vs equity →
- ecojustice 83% match — A form of justice that considers the rights of organisms and the natural environment in addition to those of human beings. vs equity →
- equilibrium 82% match — The condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced, resulting in no net change. vs equity →
- equivocal 82% match — Having two or more equally applicable meanings; capable of double or multiple interpretation. vs equity →