moiety

views updated May 18 2018

moi·e·ty / ˈmoiətē/ • n. (pl. -ties) formal or technical each of two parts into which a thing is or can be divided. ∎  Anthropol. each of two social or ritual groups into which a people is divided, esp. among Australian Aboriginals and some American Indians. ∎  a part or portion, esp. a lesser share. ∎  Chem. a distinct part of a large molecule: the enzyme removes the sulfate moiety.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

moiety

views updated May 11 2018

moiety The two or more primary subdivisions in a political or kinship grouping. Some writers restrict the meaning of this term to exogamous groups, whereas others prefer a wider usage, referring to any dual organization (as, for example, in Claude Lévi-Strauss , The Elementary Structures of Kinship, 1969)
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A Dictionary of Sociology GORDON MARSHALL

moiety

views updated Jun 08 2018

moiety half. XV (moit(i)e). — OF. moité, (also mod.) moitié :- L. medietās, -tāt-, f. medius middle, MID.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

Moiety

views updated Jun 11 2018

MOIETY

One-half.

Joint tenants own their estate by the moiety.

cross-references

Joint Tenancy.

West's Encyclopedia of American Law

Moiety

views updated May 18 2018

Moiety

a half; the better half; a small part; a lease; a share, portion, or quantity.

Examples: the moiety of the human species; of a scruple, 1641.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms

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