Analogy
a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based:
the analogy between the heart and a pump.
similarity or comparability:
I see no analogy between your problem and mine.
Biology. an analogous relationship.
Linguistics.
the process by which words or phrases are created or re-formed according to existing patterns in the language, as when shoon was re-formed as shoes, when -ize is added to nouns like winter to form verbs, or when a child says foots for feet.
a form resulting from such a process.
Logic. a form of reasoning in which one thing is inferred to be similar to another thing in a certain respect, on the basis of the known similarity between the things in other respects.
Historical Examples
Among those who were near the queen at this solemn hour was Dr. Butler, author of the ‘analogy.’
The Wits and Beaux of Society Grace Wharton and Philip Wharton
analogy in modern times only points the way, and is immediately verified by experiment.
Timaeus Plato
analogy with Anthoceros confirmed him in his views on the reproduction of ferns.
Makers of British Botany; a collection of biographies by living botanists Various
analogy, therefore, would point to him as the instructor of his kinsman.
The Violin George Hart
analogy therefore might suggest that this also would be the case with the word “Israel.”
The Expositor’s Bible: The Book of Revelation William Milligan
analogy of the structure of some Volcanic Rocks with that of Glaciers.
Life of Charles Darwin G. T. (George Thomas) Bettany
The phrase transcendental object occurs once in the second analogy and twice in the Note on Amphiboly.
A Commentary to Kant’s ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ Norman Kemp Smith
analogy is the mode of reasoning from resemblance to resemblance.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2 Various
If now, after the foregoing, you feel any inclination to send me the essay on “analogy” (capital subject), pray do so.
Our Friend John Burroughs Clara Barrus
analogy, further examined, affords no support to such a notion.
The Plurality of Worlds William Whewell
noun (pl) -gies
agreement or similarity, esp in a certain limited number of features or details
a comparison made to show such a similarity: to draw an analogy between an atom and the solar system
(biology) the relationship between analogous organs or parts
(logic, maths) a form of reasoning in which a similarity between two or more things is inferred from a known similarity between them in other respects
(linguistics) imitation of existing models or regular patterns in the formation of words, inflections, etc: a child may use “sheeps” as the plural of “sheep” by analogy with “dog”, “dogs”, “cat”, “cats”, etc
n.
1540s (perhaps early 15c.), from Old French analogie or directly from Latin analogia, from Greek analogia “proportion,” from ana- “upon, according to” (see ana-) + logos “ratio,” also “word, speech, reckoning” (see logos). A mathematical term used in a wider sense by Plato.
analogy [(uh-nal-uh-jee)]
A comparison of two different things that are alike in some way (see metaphor and simile). An analogy attributed to Samuel Johnson is: “Dictionaries are like watches; the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true.”
Read Also:
- Analogize
to make use of in reasoning, argument, etc. to be ; show . to make ; show an between: to analogize a dog to a cat. verb (intransitive) to make use of analogy, as in argument; draw comparisons (transitive) to make analogous or reveal analogy in v. “explain by analogy,” 1650s, from French analogiser (17c.) […]
- Analogise
to make use of in reasoning, argument, etc. to be ; show . to make ; show an between: to analogize a dog to a cat. verb (intransitive) to make use of analogy, as in argument; draw comparisons (transitive) to make analogous or reveal analogy in v. “explain by analogy,” 1650s, from French analogiser (17c.) […]
- Analogism
reasoning or argument by .
- Analogist
a person who employs or argues from . a person who seeks .
- Analogistic
a person who employs or argues from . a person who seeks .