Meaning and usage of the word fractional in English

The word "fractional" has its roots in Latin and Old French. The Latin term "fractus" means "broken" or "fraction", and it is related to the verb "frangere", which means "to break". In the 15th century, the Latin term "fractionalis" emerged, meaning "pertaining to a fraction". The word was later adopted into Middle English as "fractional", initially referring to something that is broken or divided into parts. In the context of mathematics, "fractional" refers to a numerical value that represents a part of a whole, such as 1/2 or 3/4. The term has been widely used in various fields, including mathematics, physics, and engineering, to describe quantities that are not whole numbers but rather a proportion or a part of a whole. Over time, the meaning of "fractional" has expanded to encompass various broader contexts, such as economics, finance, and statistics.