portion

See also: Portion

English

Etymology

From Middle English porcioun, borrowed from Old French porcion, from Latin portio (“a share, part, portion, relation, proportion”), akin to pars (“part”); see part. Compare proportion.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔɹʃən/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɔːʃən/
• (Scotland, Ireland, other varieties without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /ˈpoəɹʃən/, /ˈpoːɹʃən/, /ˈpoɹʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)ʃən

Noun

portion (plural portions)

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.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Luke 12:46, columns 2–1:

     The Lord of that ſeruant […] will appoint him his portion with the vnbeleeuers.

   • 1827, [John Keble], The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holydays throughout the Year, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] J. Parker; and C[harles] and J[ohn] Rivington, […], OCLC 1029642537:

     Man's portion is to die and rise again.

4. The part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir; an inheritance.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Luke 15:12, column 1:

     Father, giue me the portion of goods that falleth to me.

5. A wife's fortune; a dowry.
   • 1613, William Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen, V. iv. 31:

     Commend me to her, and to piece her portion / Tender her this.

Usage notes

Relatively formal, compared to the more informal part or more concrete and casual piece. For example, “part of the money” (both informal) but “portion of the proceeds” (both formal).

Synonyms

• part
• piece

Derived terms

• portionless
• proportion
• underportion

Translations

allocated amount

• Arabic: جُزُء‎ (ar) m (juzuʾ)
• Armenian: բաժին (hy) (bažin), մաս (hy) (mas)
• Azerbaijani: pay (az)
• Bulgarian: част (bg) f (čast), дял (bg) m (djal), пай (bg) m (paj)
• Burmese: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: porció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 一部分 (zh) (yībùfèn), 部分 (zh) (bùfen)

• Dutch: deel (nl) n, portie (nl) f
• Egyptian: (psšt f)
• Esperanto: parto
• Finnish: annos (fi), osuus (fi), osa (fi)
• French: part (fr) f, portion (fr) f
• Georgian: ნაწილი (nac̣ili), წილი (c̣ili), პორცია (ṗorcia), ულუფა (ka) (ulupa)
• German: Teil (de) m
• Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃 f (dails)
• Greek: μερίδα (el) f (merída)

  Ancient: λάχος n (lákhos), μόριον n (mórion)

• Hungarian: adag (hu)
• Irish: cuid (ga) f
• Italian: porzione (it) f

• Japanese: 部分 (ja) (ぶぶん, bubun)
• Khmer: ចំណែក (km) (cɑmnaek)
• Korean: 일부 (ko) (ilbu) (一部 (ko))
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: بەش‎ (ku) (beş)

• Lao: ສ່ວນ (sūan)
• Latin: portiō f
• Maori: taha
• Mongolian: хувь (mn) (khuvi)
• Plautdietsch: Deel (nds) n
• Polish: porcja (pl) f
• Portuguese: porção (pt) f
• Romanian: porțiune (ro) f, bucată (ro) f, porție (ro) f, fragment (ro) n, cotă-parte f
• Russian: до́ля (ru) f (dólja), по́рция (ru) f (pórcija), часть (ru) f (častʹ)
• Sanskrit: अंश (sa) m (aṃśa), भाग (sa) m (bhāga)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuid f
• Spanish: porción (es) f
• Swedish: portion (sv) c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tocharian B: pāke, ñasso
• Turkish: pay (tr), hisse (tr)
• Vietnamese: phần (vi) (分 (vi))

separated part of anything

• Bulgarian: парче (bg) n (parče), порция (bg) f (porcija)
• Egyptian: (fdq m)

• Finnish: osa (fi)

one's fate — See also translations at fate

• Finnish: osa (fi)

• Russian: доля (ru) (dolja)

part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir

• Finnish: osa (fi), perintöosa

• Russian: доля (ru) f (dolja)

wife's fortune — see dowry

Verb

portion (third-person singular simple present portions, present participle portioning, simple past and past participle portioned)

1. (transitive) To divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes.
2. (transitive) To endow with a portion or inheritance.
   • 1733, Alexander Pope, Epistle to Bathurst

     Him portioned maids, apprenticed orphans, blest.

Translations

to divide into amounts

• Bulgarian: разделям (bg) (razdeljam), поделям (bg) (podeljam)
• Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (dailjan)

Usage notes

• Particularly used as portion out.
• Relatively formal, compared to the more informal divide, divide up, or the casual divvy, divvy up.

Synonyms

• apportion
• divide, divide up
• divvy, divvy up

Derived terms

• portion off
• portion out

Further reading

• portion in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• portion in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin portionem (accusative singular of portio).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔʁ.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

portion f (plural portions)

1. portion

Descendants

• → Turkish: porsiyon

Further reading

• “portion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• potiron

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Interlingua

Noun

portion (plural portiones)

1. portion

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

portion c

1. serving, an helping of food

Declension

Declension of portion
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	portion	portionen	portioner	portionerna
Genitive	portions	portionens	portioners	portionernas

Related terms

• portionera