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Shares
The term shares' is one that is likely to cause a blank reaction to some people and it does make up a huge part of the current world that is quite complex and baffling. However, it is important and to put it simply, a share of stock is essentially a piece of ownership within a corporation. People can own shares in stock and if they own more than one they are known as a shareholder. Depending on the share in hand (type, size etc), they can then influence decisions made by the governing body of the organisation. Common stock usually has voting rights whereas preferred stock does not necessarily have voting rights but it does involve the right to dividends.
The concepts involved in shares date back to Roman times when shares were called socci' for large companies, with particulae' for smaller companies. Things have clearly progressed since then with developments through the Middle Ages and onwards through the 1600s and beyond. Today shares can be bought in many things, not just stocks they can also be bought in mutual funds, REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust) and limited partnerships.
They are a major part of the ways in which free trade society operates.