What does "equitable" mean? Doesn’t it mean, "equal"?

No, this is a common misconception. "Equitable" means "fair," not "equal." It may be more equitable, given the state of the marriage and the conditions of the spouses, for the majority of the property to go to the husband, instead of the wife, or vice versa.

Sometimes equitable distribution results in an equal division, or a very close approximation of an equal division. This doesn’t mean that all equitable distribution in that state, or even in that court, will be equal.