inequality

Etymology

From Middle English inequalite, from Old French inequalité, from Medieval Latin inaequālitās, from Latin inaequālis (“unequal”), from in- (“not”) + aequālis (“equal”). Morphologically inequal + -ity and in- + equality.

noun

1. An unfair, not equal, state.
   In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra–wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised. 2013-05-17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19
   The inequality in living standards led to a civil war as the have nots rebelled.
2. (mathematics) A statement that of two quantities one is specifically less than (or greater than) another. Symbol: < or ≤ or > or ≥ or ne , as appropriate.
   The inequality x is less than y, together with that y<z, allows us to deduce the inequality x<z.