English Explanatory Dictionary

portion

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An allocated amount.
  2. That which is divided off or separated, as a part from a whole; a separated part of anything.
  3. One's fate; lot.
  4. The part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir; an inheritance.
  5. A wife's fortune; a dowry.
verb
  1. To divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes.
  2. To endow with a portion or inheritance.

Pronunciation

/ˈpoɹʃən/ en-us-portion.ogg /ˈpɔːʃən/ /ˈpoːʃən/ /ˈpoəɹʃən/ /ˈpoːɹʃən/ /poː(r).ʃən/

Word forms

portion portions portioning portioned

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin portiōder. Old French porcionbor. Middle English porcioun English portion From Middle English porcioun, borrowed from Old French porcion, accusative of Latin portiōnem (“a share, part, portion, relation, proportion”), from portiō, akin to pars (“part”); see part. Compare proportion.

Synonyms

part piece bit chip chunk clip crumb crumbling cutting flake fleak fragment hunk lump mammock ort piecemeal portion scrap scraplet slice snead snippet steck doom fortune chance destin destiny fatality fate foredoom foreordination kismet lot orlay predestination predestiny preordination qadar weird wyrd apportion divide divide up divvy divvy up

Related words

proportion helping serving

Derived words

marriage-portion midportion multiportion outportion portion control portionist portionless portionwise preportion reportion scrimption subportion test portion underportion portionable portion off portion out
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