The state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities; the condition of having the same measure, quantity, or value.
The Full Story
Latinc. 1400well-attested
From OldFrench equalite, from Latin aequalitas (evenness, conformity, symmetry), the abstract noun from aequalis (equal, uniform), itself from aequus (level, even, just). Latin aequus likely traces to PIE *h2eyk-w- (even, equal), though the exact reconstruction is debated. The PIE root connects to the concept of a flat, level surface — something
Did you know?
TheFrench Revolutionary motto 'Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité' placed 'égalité' at the centre of modern political thought. ButLatin 'aequus' originally described physical levelness — a flat field, an even surface. The conceptual leap from 'level ground' to 'equal human rights' is one
"equation." English borrowed equalite from Anglo-Norman French by the 14th century, initially in legal and philosophical contexts — equality before God, equality of souls. The political sense — equality of rights and social standing — intensified during the Enlightenment and became a rallying cry during the French and American revolutions. The PIE root's core meaning of "level ground" persists as the deep metaphor: equality is the absence of artificial elevation. Key roots: aequus (Latin: "level, even, equal, just"), aequālis (Latin: "equal, of the same measure").