equitable 
of procedure practised by them: as, equi/ntil<' 
rights or remedies; ei/iiiinlili- rules or powers. 
Sec equity. 
There is hardly a subject of litigation. Wtwcen Imlivlil- 
n:ils. which may tint involve those inm-edicnta of fraud, 
accident, trust, or hardship, which uoiild render tin- mat 
tcr an object of ,-<i<iir<tril,\ rather than 01 leyal, jniisdie 
tion, astlie dislinelion is known ami established in several 
of Hi.- .states. A. tlmiiiiti'ii. Federalist, No. 1.XXX. 
Equitable assets. () I'rop, -rty noth-viaiil. -mnii > > ven- 
linn, anil only tii ) reached I i.v intcriHultion of n court of 
equity, (ft) Property lielon^ini: to tlUMtato of ft decadent 
bylaw not subject tii payment of his debts in course of ad- 
ministration, but voluntarily charged by the t> slator with 
pa\ lllellt of .Irhls m-|lerall\ . or ll|toll uhiih equity la 
tun a trust tor that pmpoM, Equitable conversion, 
a transformation of a fund from real to personal or from 
personal to teal, assnr i in enuity to have been made in 
order to seenre the application to the succession to or 
administration of that fund of the principles uhirh the 
intention of a testator or the rights of parties inter, -steil 
require. Thus, where a will imperatively directs real prop- 
erty to be sold and disti United as money, the court ma> 
tie.it the tnii'l as eqiiilalth converted from the testator s 
death, although tlie executors neglect to make an actual 
conversion into money. Equitable defense or plea, 
dclcnscor plea which, though it would not be available 
at common law . is available under the rules of equity. 
Equitable disseizin, estate, estoppel, mortgage, 
owner, seizin, waste, etc see the nouns. Equitable 
title. - s ce ,'fnittt'il'- <-*iitt<', under fxtiite. =Syn. 1. Fair, 
npnijit. honest, even-handed. 
equitableness (ek'wi-ta-bl-nes), M. The qual- 
ity of being equitable or impartial ; justice ; 
equity; fairness: n,!>,iheequital>leiieKsot a judge; 
the equitablcnfxx of a decision, or of a distribu- 
tion of property. 
Demonstrating both the ei^titttltlenenit and practicable- 
ness of the thing. Lnekf. 
equitably (ek'wi-ta-bli), tulr. In an equitable 
iiiiinner; justly; impartially; fairly. 
Now, say the objectors, had the law concealed a future 
state from the .lews, it is plain they were not equitably 
dealt with, since they were to he judged in a future state. 
MVirfti/rfmi. Divine Legation, i. 4. 
More justly and perhaps more equitably. 
ftMniiitli. The Bee, Xo. .1. 
equitancy (ek'wi-tau-si), . [X equitan(t) + 
-<(/] Horsemanship. [Rare.] 
equitangential (e'kwi-tan-jen'shal), a. [< L. 
fi'i/Hiix, equal, + E. taiiaetitial.'} Having equal 
tangents. Equitangential curve. See mm. 
equitant (ek'wi-tant), a. [= F. jquitaiit (in 
sense i!), < \j. i'qiiiiau(t-)x, ppr. of equitare, ride, 
iix (ei/iiit-), a horseman, < equiia, a horse : 
1. Riding on horseback ; mounted 
upon a horse. Kmart. [Rare.] 2. Straddling. 
Hence (ii)l n luit.. conduplicatf and overlapping: applied 
to distichous leaves whose crowded, condiiplicate liases 
successively overlap from below upward, the upper part 
of the leaf being a Hat, vertical blade ; also to a form of 
vernation in which two-ranked (dlatlchonslor three-ranked 
leaves similarly overlap. 
The leaves of the Iris are said to lie equilanl. 
II'. B. Carpenter. Micros., i 383. 
(l>) In 1'ntinn.. applied to the antenna) or other jointed 
org:ins when they are compressed, and each joint appears 
to be longitudinally folded, iiiclosini; the base of the sue 
cecilini; one. 
equitation (ek-wi-ta'shon), M. [= F. fqiiitn- 
linii = Sp. eqiiitiK-ion = Pg. fijii it<ti;iii> = It. equi- 
ta:ione, \ L. eqititatio(n-), < equitare, pp. equitii- 
IHK. ride: see eqiiitiint.] 1. Tho act or art of 
riding on horseback ; horsemanship. 
The pretender to e>i"if>iln>n mounted. Irving. 
There is a species of ff/iiilnliini peculiar to our native 
land, in which a rail from the nearest fence ... is con- 
verted into a steed. l.mre/l. Kin-side Travels, p. itw. 
2f. A ride on horseback. 
I liauc lately made a few rural cquitatiniut to rbll wine 
-eats, gardens, etc, 
Quoted In \!eluil* Illus. of Lit. History, IV. 47. 
equitempqraneous (c-kwi-tem-po-ra'ne-us), a. 
[= It. AJMitMtpOrOMOi < I., iii/ini.-.-. I'qual', + tem- 
IIHS (ti-nifior-), time: see temporal 1 , and of. <<>- 
MMfWrMMIM.] Isochronous; occupying the 
same length of time. [Rare.] 
Till Galileo . . . took notice of the vibrations with a 
mathematical e\e. men knew not this property of swing- 
ing' bodies, that the greater and smaller arches \\, ]-,-. as 
tn -ens,-. ,,,,,;/. mjwrwteottt, /;<"//, Works, III. 4711. 
equites (ek'wi-fez), . y</. [L., pi. <it' /<>-, a 
horseman, knight, < eqinix, ahorse: see i,qtiHK.~\ 
1. In ancient Koine, the knights, a body origi- 
nally constituting tlie cavalry of the army, of 
patrician rank, and equipped'by the state, but 
afterward comprising also rich plebeians, and 
in pa rt finding their own equipments. The equites. 
or the c-/j', ,.-'/-;-i,i ,,,-'/ r (in distinction from the - ,m!i.i'in', 
i-.;.- rl. tinally l.>-t in nival part their distinctive military 
eliaractei. and w- -re c. instituted as a class intermediate 
iK-tween the senatorial order and the ordinary eiti/ens, 
i on certain limits nt property, with a prescriptive 
riuht to judicial and tlnaneial otiiees.' to high military rank, 
and 1. 1 some social distinctions. 
1987 
2f. ['7.] In :<M">I., a Linnean group of butter- 
flies, corresponding to the old genus /'/<//V. 
equitcon (ck-wi-ton'), n. A kind of African 
antelope, .luti-ln/ii- mli until, found on the Gam- 
bia. Also called knbana. 
equity (ek'\vi-ti). . [< MK. fiiiiiin; < OF. 
i-i/iiili , F. ,'i/nili- I J r. cquitat = Sp. rquutatl = 
Vg.e<ii<i<l<nl<'= It. fqnili'i, < \j. tn/itit<t(l-).i, equal- 
ity, justice, fairness. < IK/UUM, equal, just, fair: 
sei- ii/i ml. I 1. That which is equally right or 
just to all concerned ; equal or impartial jus- 
tice; fairness; impartiality. 
This Kyui; is -o rlithtiulle and of . 7 ,/f. - in hi- Doomes 
that men may ^osykerlyche thorghe out alle his Contrec. 
MnmlrriUe, Travel*, p. \V. 
He dede eytiitf to alle euene-forth his powere. 
/*i>r Plowman (B), xlx. SOTi. 
With righteousness shall he judge the world, anil the 
people with n/<ti,. p. xcvill, tf. 
Justice Is not postponed. A perfect r<?tnfi/ adjusts Its 
balance In all pnrts at life. Kmermu, Coui|iensation. 
2. In lair: (a) Fairness in the adjustment of 
conflicting interests; the application of the 
dictates of good conscience to the settlement 
of controversies : often called natural equity. 
K'/iilti/ in Law is the same that the Spirit is In Religion, 
what every one pleases to make It. 
SrUtu, Table-Talk, p. 4(i. 
(fc) The system of jurisprudence or body of doc- 
trines and rules as to what is equitable and fair 
and what is not, by which the defects of, and 
the incidental hard'ships resulting from, the in- 
flexibility of the forms and the universality of 
the rules of the common-law tribunals are cor- 
rected or remedied, and substantial justice is 
done. In the early history of the English people it was 
found, as society advanced, that many grievances arose 
which were not Included In the classes of cases which the 
common law authorized the judges to take cognizance of. 
Hence It became customary for those who could not ob- 
tain redress in the courts, because no common-law action 
appropriate to their grievance had l>een sanctioned, or 
because the common law, while equitable and fair in its 
general application, was unfair in its application to their 
particular case, to apply to the king In Parliament or in 
council for justice. Petitioners in such cases (If It could be 
shown that there was no adequate remedy at law, or that the 
oj ici at ii ii i of the common law was unfair In its application 
to the particular case in hand) were referred to the chancel- 
lor (originally an ecclesiastic), the keeper of the king's con- 
science, who, after hearing the parties, required what was 
equitable and just to be done, under penalty of imprison- 
ment, excommunication, etc. Thus, the common-law rem- 
edy of collecting a debt by getting judgment and execution 
iieeame established at a time when property consisted al- 
most entirely of lands and goods; hutas wealth increased, 
and appeared in the forms of intangible property, such 
as valuable rights in action, contracts, securities, patents, 
copyrights, etc. . the chancellor would entertain a complaint 
(called a bill iiif<]nitti)trom a creditor, setting forth that he 
was unable to collect his judgment out of property that 
could )>e reached by legal process, and that the debtor li.nl 
other property which ought to l>e applied in payment, 
and asking that the defendant lie compelled to do what 
equity and good conscience required to lie done. The 
chancellor(the('ourt of Chancery) could compel the debtor 
to assign his intangible property to a receiver, a mode of 
relief which the law had never conferred ou a sheriff the 
power to afford. Or if a creditor, to secure his demand, 
obtained from his debtor a deed which in terms was an 
absolute conveyance, and was proceeding to enforce it as 
if It were so intended, the Court of Chancery would en- 
tertain a complaint from the debtor offering to pay the 
debt, and asking to lie allowed to redeem the land. The 
steady growth of the complexities of property and of 
business and social relations increased the cases requiring 
equitable remedies to supply the deficiency of common- 
law remedies, or equitable Interference with the uncon- 
scionable enforcement of common-law rules, until the 
procedure in equity developed a substantive system of 
doctrines and remedies covering a great variety of sub- 
jects scarcely contemplated by the common law. In Eng- 
land and the I nitcd States the doctrines of the common 
law have now generally been subjected to the established 
modillcations introduced by equity, and in many jurisdic- 
tions the two systems of rules thus merged ami modified 
are administered hy the same courts. This new system 
Is generally known in the I'nited States as the code prac- 
tice, or the vw or reformat procedure. 
There is not ... a single department of the law which 
is more completely fenced in hy principle, or that Is bet- 
ter limit.-. I by considerations of public convenience, both 
in doctrine and discipline, than equity. 
-'.>/. Misc. Writings, p. 540. 
(c) The court or jurisdiction in which these doc- 
trines are applied : as, a suit in equity, (d) An 
equitable right; that to which one is justly en- 
titled; specifically, a right recognized by courts 
of equity which the common law did not provide 
for: as, the wife's equity, or her right, when her 
husband sought to enforce his common-law 
claim to reduce her property to his own posses- 
sion, to have a portion of it settled on herself. 
(e) The remaining interest belonging to one 
who has pledged or mortgaged his property, 
or the surplus of value which mav remain after 
the propertv has been disposed of for the satis- 
faction of hens. [U. S.] (/) A right or obli- 
gation incident to a property or contract as 
equivalent 
between two persons, but not incident to the 
property or contract from its own nature. In 
this sense used in the plural, /tajialjf and l.mr- 
ri iii-i-. Equity of a statute, t uiv.n to a statute In 
,e i -n|. lam -. lib hat i>,le, -ntt d it- ica-on ;i nil spirit, which 
might not be i.'iven to it l>v a stiiith ht'ial r, ailing 
Equity of redemption, (a) MM i^lit of a mortgager or 
a pledger hy absolute deed to redeem the pro|M-rt> by pay 
Ing the debt, even after forfeiture, but before sale under 
toiei losiire. or unconditional transfer of title, or ln-toi.- 
this right is barred i.\ .tatnt,< ..t limitation, (fr) In 
iinM-yancing, in the I'nited States, the ownership of or 
title to real property which is subject to a mortgage : some. 
times simply called r<inU;i. Equity side of the court, 
or equity term, in a court in which U>th equity and tie 
common law are separately retained and administered, a 
session or a term In which causes in equity are heard, an 
distinguished from those in which common-law causes are 
heard. =8yn. 1. Kectitudc. fairness, honesty, uprightness. 
2. Ki'lht. /.'"'. etc. fttuJHttire. 
equity-draftsman (ek'wi-ti -drafts 'man), . 
In England, a barrister who draws pleadings in 
equity. 
equivale (e'kwi-val), . t. ; pret. and pp. eqvi- 
rnled, ppr. rqitiraliug. [< LL. (rquivalere, have 
equal power, be equivalent, < L. eequus, equal, 
+ valere, be strong, have power: see raliant, 
ralid, and of. fofewMfc] To be equivalent to. 
[Rare.] 
A unit of thought would n]ui'rale many units of life ; 
and a unit of life, many units of purely mechanical force. 
Alien, aiul Xeurul., VI. 61S. 
equivalence (e-kwiv'a-lens), n. [= F. Equiva- 
lence = Sp. Pg. cquivale'iicia = It. equivalenza , 
< ML. (equicalfntia, < LL. a?quivale(t-)it, equiv- 
alent: see eqiiiralrnt.] The condition of being 
equivalent ; equality in value ; correspondence 
in signification, force, nature, or the like : as, a 
universal eqiiinilener of weights and measures 
is extremely desirable; exact equiralfiice be- 
tween different words is rare. Also equiralenry. 
To restore him to some proportion or equicalertcc with 
that state of grace from whence he is fallen. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1885), I. 18-2. 
That there is any equivalence or parity of worth betwixt 
the good we do to our brother and the good we hope for 
from loid, all good Protestants do deny. /;/. Smatridge. 
Since we regard as the highest life that which, like our 
own. shows great complexity in the eorresjiondences, . . . 
the effttiratence lietween degree of life and degree of cor- 
res|Hindence is unquestionable. 
//. Splicer, Prin. of BioL, 32. 
Equivalence Of force, the doctrine that force of one 
kind becomes transformed into force of another kind of 
tile same value. Xeeenerit}/.- Equivalence Of functions. 
See/wMrfiVm. 
equivalencet (e-kwiv'a-Iens), c. t. [< equiva- 
lence, n.] To tie equivalent to ; counterpoise. 
Whether the resistfhility of his reason did not equira- 
/-*' the facility of her seduction. 
Kir T. Brnmie, Vulg. Err., 1. 1. 
equivalency (e-kwiv'a-len-si). M. 1. Same as 
equiraleuce. &. In clieiii.. the property pos- 
sessed by an element or radical of combining 
with another element or radical or of replacing 
it in a compound body in definite and unalter- 
able proportions. Tlie word Is sometimes used as 
synonymous with valence or qiianticalcHct, as in the ex- 
tract. See law of equivalents, under equivalent . 
A radicle may as a rule lie made to change its cquim- 
leitctt, or basic power, hy the removal of hydrogen. 
If. A. Miller, Elem. of Chem., I IO58. 
equivalent (e-kwiv'a-lent), a. and n. [= F. 
equivalents: Sp. Pg. It. eqxiralente, <, LL. tfquiva- 
len(t-)tt, having equal power, ppr. of a'quivalere, 
have equal power : seecqruicn/e.] I. a. 1. Equal 
in value, force, measure, power, effect, import, 
or meaning; correspondent; agreeing; tanta- 
mount: as, circumstantial evidence may be 
almost equiraleiit to full proof. 
There is no Request of yours hut is ei/niraletit to a Com- 
mand with me. Hotcell, Letters, iv. 34. 
Samson, far renown'd. 
The dread of Israel's foes, who with a strength 
KifttiraUnt to angels, walk'd their streets, 
None offering light. Miltm, S. A., I. 343. 
K, ,r now to serve and to minister, servile and ministerial, 
are terms equivalent. South, Sermons. 
Kxpressions which are identical are also equivalent, but 
the converse does not hold. 
','. //. Lemt, Prolw. of Life ami Mind, II. II. f 80. 
If the constraining force lie not literally law, hut some- 
thing of eqtn'rfilent etfect, such as a social opinion or ex- 
pectation, the morality that results will be of the same 
kind. J R. Steles, Nat. Religion, p. 159. 
2. In geol., contemporaneous in origin; corre- 
sponding in position in the scale of rocks: as, 
the equiralen t strata of different countries. See 
II., 2. 3. In f/eom., having equal areas or 
equal dimensions: said of surfaces or magni- 
tudes. 4. In Wo/., having the same morphic 
valence; homologous in structure. Calculus of 
equivalent statements. See Calcutta. 
