Share

Share (0. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. "shear"), something cut off, a portion, a definite part of anything distributed among a number of persons. The word is particularly applied to the fixed and equal amounts into which the capital of a limited company is divided (see Stocks And Shares; Company; and Debentures). From the same O. Eng. verb sceran is derived "share" (0. Eng. scear), the cutting blade of a plough.