different between equity vs equivocate

English

Alternative forms

• æquity (archaic, poetic)
• equitie (archaic)

Etymology

Attested in 14th century; from the 13th century Old French equite, from Latin aequitas (“uniformity; impartiality; fairness”). Doublet of equality.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??k.w?.ti/

Noun

equity (countable and uncountable, plural equities)

1. Fairness, impartiality, or justice as determined in light of "natural law" or "natural right".
2. (law) Various related senses originating with the Court of Chancery in late Medieval England
   1. (law) 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.
      • 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.

      • 1851, Edward Sugden, 1st Baron St Leonards in Birch v. Joy (1851), 3 H. L. C. 598:

        "A Court of equity interposes only according to conscience."

      • 1848-55, Thomas Babington Macaulay, History of England, Chapter IX:

        Equity had been gradually shaping itself into a refined science which no human faculties could master without long and intense application.

   2. (law) 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.
      • 1999, In Re Fitzgerald, 237 B.R. 252, 261 (Bkrtcy. D.Conn. 1999):

        "...the mortgagor retains ‘equitable title’ or the ‘equity of redemption’….The equity of redemption permits the mortgagor to regain legal title to the mortgaged property upon satisfying the conditions of the mortgage..."

      • 1826, James Kent, Commentaries on American Law

        The wife's equity does not, according to the adjudged cases, attach, except upon that part of her personal property in action which the husband cannot acquire without the assistance of a court of equity

   3. (law, 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.
3. (finance) Various senses related to net value
   1. (law, finance) Value of property minus liens or other encumbrances.

   2. (business) Ownership, especially in terms of net monetary value of some business.
   3. (accounting) Ownership interest in a company as determined by subtracting liabilities from assets.
   4. (poker) A player's expected share of the pot.
4. (nonstandard) Equality

Translations

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “equity”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

English

Alternative forms

• æquivocate (archaic)

Etymology

From Medieval Latin aequivoc?tus, perfect passive participle of aequivoc? (“I am called by the same name”), from Late Latin aequivocus (“ambiguous, equivocal”): compare French équivoquer. See equivocal.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??kw?v??ke?t/

Verb

equivocate (third-person singular simple present equivocates, present participle equivocating, simple past and past participle equivocated)

1. (intransitive) To use words of equivocal or doubtful signification; to express one's opinions in terms which admit of different senses, with intent to deceive; to use ambiguous expressions with a view to mislead; as, to equivocate is the work of duplicity.
   • 1687, Edward Stillingfleet, The Unreasonableness of Separation: Or, An Impartial Account of the History, Nature and Pleas of the Present Separation from the Communion of the Church of England

     All that Garnet had to say for him was that he supposed he meant to equivocate.

2. To render equivocal or ambiguous.

Synonyms

• prevaricate
• evade
• shuffle
• quibble
• dodge
• adumbrate

Translations

See also

• prevaricate

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “equivocate”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Italian

Verb

equivocate

1. second-person plural present indicative of equivocare
2. second-person plural imperative of equivocare
3. feminine plural of equivocato