Aliquot

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæl.ɪ.kwɒt/

Definitions

1. A specific portion of a larger whole that can be divided evenly without leaving any fraction behind
2. A segment of a total that allows for equal distribution while preserving the characteristics of the original amount
3. A part of a quantity that fits into the whole an exact number of times without remainder

Etymology: Latin "aliquot" is a small, unglamorous word meaning "some, several" or "a few," built from "alius" ("other") and "quot" ("how many"). Its sense of "some unspecified number" is the whole of its original job. The mathematical meaning arose later, when the phrase "aliquot part" came to describe a number that divides another exactly, with no remainder. Twelve, for example, has aliquot parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. The word reached English by way of French "aliquote," the French adjective that carried the same mathematical sense. English borrowed the term as a technical word, so it belongs to the vocabulary of arithmetic rather than everyday speech, and it still carries that quiet, precise flavour. The noun use in this entry, "evenly dividing portion," follows the same logic: a part that goes into the whole without leaving anything over.

Synonyms: fraction, portion, part, segment, share