Moiety refers to half of something. The term was generally used to refer to one-half interest in real estate, but is rarely used today. It is derived from an old French word “moitié,” meaning half.
Cases such as this one from Texas, explain that “the term ‘moiety’ as used in statute providing for partition of community property in an estate means the half of anything or one-half, which may be reference to that half of the property which the testator owned.” However, the term “moiety” can be broader than just a half-interest. For example, joint tenants - two or more persons who own land by a joint title - are “said to hold by moieties.” When used this way, the term refers to any set of roughly equal parts.
[Last updated in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]