moiety

moiety
    n 1: one of two (approximately) equal parts [syn: {moiety},
         {mediety}]
    2: one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe
    

Moiety \Moi"e*ty\ (moi"[-e]*t[y^]), n.; pl. {Moieties}
   (moi"[-e]*t[i^]z). [F. moiti['e], L. medietas, fr. medius
   middle, half. See {Mid}, a., and cf. {Mediate}, {Mediety}.]
   1. One of two equal parts; a half; as, a moiety of an estate,
      of goods, or of profits; the moiety of a jury, or of a
      nation. --Shak.
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            The more beautiful moiety of his majesty's subject.
                                                  --Addison.
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   2. An indefinite part; a small part. --Shak.
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Residue \Res"i*due\ (r?z"?-d?), n. [F. r['e]sidu, L. residuum,
   fr. residuus that is left behind, remaining, fr. residere to
   remain behind. See {Reside}, and cf. {Residuum}.]
   1. That which remains after a part is taken, separated,
      removed, or designated; remnant; remainder.
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            The residue of them will I deliver to the sword.
                                                  --Jer. xv. 9.
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            If church power had then prevailed over its victims,
            not a residue of English liberty would have been
            saved.                                --I. Taylor.
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   2. (Law) That part of a testeator's estate wwhich is not
      disposed of in his will by particular and special legacies
      and devises, and which remains after payment of debts and
      legacies.
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   3. (Chem.) That which remains of a molecule after the removal
      of a portion of its constituents; hence, an atom or group
      regarded as a portion of a molecule; a {moiety} or
      {group}; -- used as nearly equivalent to {radical}, but in
      a more general sense.
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   Note: The term radical is sometimes restricted to groups
         containing carbon, the term residue and {moiety} being
         applied to the others.
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   4. (Theory of Numbers) Any positive or negative number that
      differs from a given number by a multiple of a given
      modulus; thus, if 7 is the modulus, and 9 the given
      number, the numbers -5, 2, 16, 23, etc., are residues.
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   Syn: Rest; remainder; remnant; balance; residuum; remains;
        leavings; relics.
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MOIETY. The half of anything; as, if a testator bequeath one moiety of his 
estate to A, and the other to B, each shall take an equal part. Joint 
tenants are said to hold by moieties. Lit. 125; 3 M. G. & S. 274, 283 
    

118 Moby Thesaurus words for "moiety":
      allotment, allowance, ashram, big end, bigger half, bisection, bit,
      bite, body, budget, butt, caste, chip, chunk, clan, class, clip,
      clipping, collop, colony, commission, commonwealth, commune,
      community, contingent, crumb, cut, cutting, deal, destiny,
      dividend, division, dole, dollop, economic class, end,
      endogamous group, equal share, equidistance, extended family,
      family, fate, fifty percent, fifty-fifty, fragment, gens, gob,
      gobbet, half, half-and-half, halfway house, halver, helping,
      hemisphere, hunk, interest, kinship group, lot, lump, measure,
      mediety, meed, member, mess, mid-distance, midcourse,
      middle distance, midway, modicum, morsel, nuclear family, order,
      parcel, paring, part, particle, percentage, phratria, phratry,
      phyle, piece, portion, proportion, quantum, quota, rake-off,
      rasher, ration, scoop, scrap, section, segment, semicircle,
      semisphere, settlement, shard, share, shaving, shiver, shred,
      slice, sliver, small share, smithereen, snack, snatch, snip,
      snippet, social class, society, splinter, stake, stitch, stock,
      stump, subcaste, tatter, totem