the.com/apportionment

means The process of dividing a fixed number of things—usually legislative seats or funds—among groups based on their population or share, using a formula that inevitably favors someone when the numbers don't divide evenly.

from From French 'apportionner,' built on Latin 'portio' (a share or portion) — the same root that gives us 'proportion' and 'portion' itself. The prefix 'ad-' (to, toward) fused onto 'portio' to mean 'assign a share to.' Latin 'portio' likely traces back to a root shared with 'pars' (part), tying the word to the basic ancient act of cutting a whole into pieces and handing them out — a job that's never been as neutral as the math makes it look.