ANALOGY • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Analogy

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/ənˈælədʒi/ Listen

noun

Analogy n. (pl. analogies)

A resemblance of relations; an agreement or likeness between things in some circumstances or effects, when the things are otherwise entirely different. Thus, learning enlightens the mind, because it is to the mind what light is to the eye, enabling it to discover things before hidden. Note: Followed by between, to, or with; as, there is an analogy between these objects, or one thing has an analogy to or with another. Note: Analogy is very commonly used to denote similarity or essential resemblance; but its specific meaning is a similarity of relations, and in this consists the difference between the argument from example and that from analogy. In the former, we argue from the mere similarity of two things; in the latter, from the similarity of their relations.

(Biol.) A relation or correspondence in function, between organs or parts which are decidedly different.

(Geom.) Proportion; equality of ratios.

(Gram.) Conformity of words to the genius, structure, or general rules of a language; similarity of origin, inflection, or principle of pronunciation, and the like, as opposed to anomaly.

See images of 'Analogy'

Etymology of 'Analogy'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Analogy" Quotes from Famous Books

... of that remembered day. Dramatically speaking, the scene High-street, the time "we may suppose near ten o'clock," A.M.; all silent as the woods which skirt the river Medina, so that to hazard a gloomy analogy, you might presume that some plague had swept away the population from the sunny streets; the deathlike calm being only broken by the sounds of sundry sashes, lifted by the dust-exterminating housemaid; or the clattering of the boots and spurs of some lonely ...

— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Vol. 13, No. 374 • Various

... try to find its analogy in chemistry, and for a moment consider the curious behaviour of some well-known salts, under different conditions of temperature, what is taking place underground ceases to be mysterious ...

— The Chemistry, Properties and Tests of Precious Stones • John Mastin

... occupations and the performance of unskilled labor for the public benefit. In reality they worked for his personal profit, oftentimes at the expense of the clan. They lived on his land, and he was responsible for their conduct. By analogy, the distinctions saer and daer were recognized among them, according to origin, character, and means. Where these elements continued to be favorable for three generations, progress upward was made; and ultimately a number of them could club together, appoint a flaithfine, and apply ...

— The Glories of Ireland • Edited by Joseph Dunn and P.J. Lennox

... visiting angels, or, better still, of the fair god Quetzalcohuatl, whom the Mexican legend of olden times brought from the East to rule over and to civilize the natives of this land by bringing them plenty. The analogy spontaneously occurred to every thoughtful onlooker, and spread like ...

— Maximilian in Mexico - A Woman's Reminiscences of the French Intervention 1862-1867 • Sara Yorke Stevenson

... disbelieve such evidence, we might here stop: let us, however, inquire how far the truth of this declaration is substantiated by other considerations. Enough has been said to show that there is a curious, if not a remarkable, analogy between the predictions of Noah on the future descendants of his three sons, and the actual state of those races which are generally supposed to have sprung from them. It may here be again remarked, that, to render ...

— History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1 - Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens • George W. Williams

More quotes...