different between count vs portion

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ka?nt/
• Rhymes: -a?nt

Etymology 1

From Middle English counten, borrowed from Anglo-Norman conter, from Old French conter (“add up; tell a story”), from Latin computare, present active infinitive of comput? (“I compute”). Displaced native Middle English tellen (“to count”) (from Old English tellan) and Middle English rimen (“to count, enumerate”) (from Old English r?man). Doublet of compute.

Verb

count (third-person singular simple present counts, present participle counting, simple past and past participle counted)

1. (intransitive) To recite numbers in sequence.

2. (transitive) To determine the number (of objects in a group).
3. (intransitive) To be of significance; to matter.

4. (intransitive) To be an example of something: often followed by as and an indefinite noun.
   • 1886, John Addington Symonds, Sir Philip Sidney

     This excellent man […] counted among the best and wisest of English statesmen.

5. (transitive) To consider something an example of something.

6. (obsolete) To take account or note (of).
7. (Britain, law) To plead orally; to argue a matter in court; to recite a count.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Burrill to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (determine the number of objects in a group): enumerate, number; see also Thesaurus:count

Derived terms

Related terms

• compute

Translations

Noun

count (plural counts)

1. The act of counting or tallying a quantity.

2. The result of a tally that reveals the number of items in a set; a quantity counted.
3. A countdown.
4. (law) A charge of misconduct brought in a legal proceeding.
5. (baseball) The number of balls and strikes, respectively, on a batter's in-progress plate appearance.

6. (obsolete) An object of interest or account; value; estimation.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

count (not comparable)

1. (linguistics, grammar) Countable.

Etymology 2

From Middle English counte, from Anglo-Norman conte and Old French comte (“count”), from Latin comes (“companion”) (more specifically derived from its accusative form comitem) in the sense of "noble fighting alongside the king". Doublet of comes and comte.

Noun

count (plural counts)

1. The male ruler of a county.
2. A nobleman holding a rank intermediate between dukes and barons.
3. (entomology) Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Tanaecia. Other butterflies in this genus are called earls and viscounts.

Synonyms

• (English counts): earl
• (French counts): comte
• (Italian counts): conte
• (German counts): graf

Derived terms

• viscount
• count palatine, count palatinate

Related terms

• (female form or wife): countess, contessa
• (adjectival form): comital
• (related titles): baron, don, duke, earl, lord, prince

Translations

Anagrams

• no-cut

Middle English

Noun

count

1. Alternative form of cunte

English

Etymology

From Middle English porcioun, borrowed from Old French porcion, from Latin portio (“a share, part, portion, relation, proportion”), akin to pars (“part”); see part. Compare proportion.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p????n/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p????n/
• (Scotland, Ireland, other varieties without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /?po????n/, /?po????n/, /?po???n/
• Rhymes: -??(?)??n

Noun

portion (plural portions)

1. An allocated amount.
2. That which is divided off or separated, as a part from a whole; a separated part of anything.
3. One's fate; lot.
   • Man's portion is to die and rise again.

4. The part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir; an inheritance.
5. A wife's fortune; a dowry.
   • 1613, William Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen, V. iv. 31:

     Commend me to her, and to piece her portion / Tender her this.

Usage notes

Relatively formal, compared to the more informal part or more concrete and casual piece. For example, “part of the money” (both informal) but “portion of the proceeds” (both formal).

Synonyms

• part
• piece

Derived terms

• portionless
• proportion
• underportion

Translations

Verb

portion (third-person singular simple present portions, present participle portioning, simple past and past participle portioned)

1. (transitive) To divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes.
2. (transitive) To endow with a portion or inheritance.
   • 1733, Alexander Pope, Epistle to Bathurst

     Him portioned maids, apprenticed orphans, blest.

Translations

Usage notes

• Particularly used as portion out.
• Relatively formal, compared to the more informal divide, divide up, or the casual divvy, divvy up.

Synonyms

• apportion
• divide, divide up
• divvy, divvy up

Derived terms

• portion off
• portion out

Further reading

• portion in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• portion in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin portionem (accusative singular of portio).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??.sj??/

Noun

portion f (plural portions)

1. portion

Descendants

• ? Turkish: porsiyon

Further reading

• “portion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• potiron

Interlingua

Noun

portion (plural portiones)

1. portion

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

portion c

1. serving, an helping of food

Declension

Related terms

• portionera