Securities are traditionally divided into debt securities (lesson 30) and equities.
Equity:
An equity is an ordinary share in a company. The holder of an equity is a shareholder, owning a share, or fractional part of the issuer. Stock is the capital raised by a corporation, through the issuance and sale of shares. A shareholder is any person or organization which owns one or more shares of a corporation’s stock.
In British English, the word stock has another meaning in finance, referring to a bond. It can also be used more widely to refer to all kinds of marketable securities. Where a share of ownership is meant the word share is usually used in British English.