noun

1. a breaking or dividing, specif., of the Host in the Mass
2. 1. a small part broken off; fragment; scrap
   2. a small part, amount, degree, etc.; portion
3. Chem. a part separated by fractional crystallization, distillation, etc.
4. Math.
   1. an indicated quotient of two whole numbers, as ,
   2. any quantity expressed in terms of a numerator and denominator, as x/y

Etymology: ME < L fractio, a breaking < pp. of frangere, break

transitive verb