fractional
Meaning
relating to or expressed as a fraction; constituting a fraction.
very small; insignificant.
Structure
Usage
he owns only a fractional share of the company.
the difference in their test scores was fractional.
fractional distillation is used to separate components of crude oil.
Etymology
the word 'fractional' originates from the latin verb 'frangere', meaning 'to break'. its past participle 'fractus' gave rise to the noun 'fractio', denoting the action of breaking. this concept was adopted into english as 'fraction', referring to a broken piece or a numerical quantity that is not a whole. the adjective-forming suffix '-al' was then appended, creating 'fractional' to describe something pertaining to or consisting of such broken parts. the semantic evolution beautifully illustrates how the concrete idea of physical breaking was abstracted into the mathematical and qualitative sense of being partial or incomplete.
Analysis
fract (from latin 'fractus', past participle of 'frangere', meaning 'to break'), ion (latin suffix forming nouns of action or state), al (latin suffix '-alis', forming adjectives meaning 'of or pertaining to').