/ray"shoh, -shee oh'/ , n. , pl. ratios .
1. the relation between two similar magnitudes with respect to the number of times the first contains the second: the ratio of 5 to 2, written 5:2 or 5/2.
2. proportional relation; rate: the ratio between acceptances and rejections.
3. Finance. the relative value of gold and silver in a bimetallic currency system.
[ 1630-40; ratio a reckoning, account, calculation, deriv. (see -TION) of the base of reri to judge, think ]