Amanda Stephenson Katie Jennings 
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Equity usually appears in courts of law as a term related to justice or proportional fairness, or in financial offices to property or one's share of a company. The derivative root of the noun, which gained stability in the English language during the 1300s, is Latin aequus, meaning "even," "fair," or "equal"; however, to be fair, it was introduced to English by the French, whose adaptation of the Latin was equité. The French word has clear legal connotations; it means "justice" or "rightness," and those meanings, plus a splash of "fairness," carried over to the English word equity. Noah Webster, himself a lawyer, notes the legal term equity of redemption in his 1828 dictionary defining it as "the advantage, allowed to a mortgager, of a reasonable time to redeem lands mortgaged, when the estate is of greater value than the sum for which it was mortgaged." This use led to the modern financial meanings of equity: "the value of a piece of property after any debts that remain to be paid are subtracted" and "a share in a company or of a company's stock."
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Examples of equity in a Sentence
Quartz Bot, Quartz, 15 Nov. 2024
These same groups also advocate for a Latino agenda that has been largely aligned with Democratic Party policies and for candidates and issues of equity.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
The controversial private equity bet has helped push Kushner closer to billionaire status, with a net worth of at least $900 million—up 180% from early 2017.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
To achieve that, the plan focuses on targets associated with climate, circularity, water, biodiversity, wellness, equity, employee engagement, and community engagement and partnership.
—Jennifer Bringle, Sourcing Journal, 5 Nov. 2024
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“Equity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equity. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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equity
noun
Legal Definition
equity
noun
F. A. MagruderU.S. Constitution art. IIINote: The courts of equity 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 in fashioning 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 rivaled the 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 law and 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. The courts 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.
W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al.O. W. Holmes, Jr.Latin aequitat-, aequitas fairness, justice, from aequus equal, fair
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