The part of something - asset, house or company - which you own. What the professionals callshares. If you lend a company money, you have made a loan and rank as a creditor who, under normal circumstances, would expect repayment of the loan plus interest at a future date. If you buy ordinary shares in a company you become an equity-holder in that company, which means you share in its profits (and losses) and have a less clear-cut idea of your future returns than does a lender. As an ordinary shareholder, you stand in line behind debenture-holders for settlement, should the company be wound up. You cannot rely on a fixed return, and you run the risk of loss, but in return for this you have a share in the company's surplus during good times. You also have equity in that part of the value of your house above the amount borrowed from the lender which has the mortgage over your house. Economists, as well as other people, use 'equity' in its original sense of fairness or impartiality.
