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analogy

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a⋅nal⋅o⋅gy

  [uh-nal-uh-jee]
Use analogy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -gies.
1. a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump.
2. similarity or comparability: I see no analogy between your problem and mine.
3. Biology. an analogous relationship.
4. Linguistics.
a. 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.
b. a form resulting from such a process.
5. 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.
Origin:
1530–40; < L analogia < Gk. See analogous, -y 3

Synonyms:
1. comparison, likeness, resemblance, similitude, affinity. 2. correspondence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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a·nal·o·gy   (ə-nāl'ə-jē)   
n.   pl. a·nal·o·gies

    1. Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

    2. A comparison based on such similarity. See Synonyms at likeness.

  2. Biology Correspondence in function or position between organs of dissimilar evolutionary origin or structure.

  3. A form of logical inference or an instance of it, based on the assumption that if two things are known to be alike in some respects, then they must be alike in other respects.

  4. Linguistics The process by which words or morphemes are re-formed or created on the model of existing grammatical patterns in a language, often leading to greater regularity in paradigms, as evidenced by helped replacing holp and holpen as the past tense and past participle of help on the model of verbs such as yelp, yelped, yelped.


[Middle English analogie, from Old French, from Latin analogia, from Greek analogiā, from analogos, proportionate; see analogous.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

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.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

analogy 
1550, from L. analogia, from Gk. analogia "proportion," from ana- "upon, according to" + logos "ratio," also "word, speech, reckoning." A mathematical term used in a wider sense by Plato.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: anal·o·gy
Pronunciation: &-'nal-&-jE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -gies
: functionalsimilarity between anatomical parts without similarity of structure and origin —compare HOMOLOGY 1
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Encyclopedia

analogy

in biology, similarity of function and superficial resemblance of structures that have different origins. For example, the wings of a fly, a moth, and a bird are analogous because they developed independently as adaptations to a common function-flying. The presence of the analogous structure, in this case the wing, does not reflect evolutionary closeness among the organisms that possess it. Analogy is one aspect of evolutionary biology and is distinct from homology (q.v.), the similarity of structures as a result of similar embryonic origin and development, considered strong evidence of common descent

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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