ˈekwəd.ē, -wətē, -i noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English equite, from Middle French equité, from Latin aequitat-, aequitas, literally, equality, from aequus equal + -itat-, -itas -ity
1.
a. : a free and reasonable conformity to accepted standards of natural right, law, and justice without prejudice, favoritism, or fraud and without rigor entailing undue hardship : justice according to natural law or right : fairness
prompted by considerations of equity to honor claims not legally valid
specifically : impartiality
tax adjustment for the sake of equity
presenting both sides of the issue with equity
b. : something that conforms to the principle of equity (as an equitable act) : an instance of equity
the inequities produced by the system being outweighed by the equities
2.
a. : a system of law (as in England and the United States) originating in the English chancery and comprising a settled and formal body of legal and procedural rules and doctrines that supplement, aid, or override common and statute law and are designed to protect rights and enforce duties fixed by substantive law
b. : trial or remedial justice under or by the rules and doctrines of equity administered in a separate court (as in some states) or in a court of law (as in the federal court system)
a suit or proceeding at law or in equity
c. : a body of legal doctrines and rules (as the Roman praetorian law) developed to enlarge, supplement, or override a system of law that has become too narrow and rigid in its scope ; specifically : a set of rules or treaties accepted or acknowledged in international relations as imposing certain obligations in the mutual conduct of affairs between politically organized peoples
3.
a. : a right, claim, or interest existing or valid in equity
the wife's equity to a settlement of a portion of the property
b. : the money value of a property or of an interest in a property in excess of claims or liens (as mortgaged indebtedness) against it
c. : a risk interest or ownership right in property ; specifically : equity security
equity investment
equity finance