analogy

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/ See IPA manual

Freq #17154

Meanings

1

noun
A comparison between two things that are similar in some way, often used to explain something.

The teacher used the analogy of a river to explain how electricity flows.
2

noun
A similarity or likeness between two things.

There is a clear analogy between the human eye and a camera.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms analogies

Derived forms analogalanalogistanalogizecounteranalogydisanalogynonanalogy

Related forms analogue example homology metaphor parable parallelism simile

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

interesting analogy
A comparison between different things that attracts attention or helps reveal a connection.

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Latin analogia, from Ancient Greek ἀναλογίᾱ (analogíā), from ἀνα- (ana-) + λόγος (lógos, “speech, reckoning”).

*leǵ- Proto-Indo-European analogia Latin ἀναλογίᾱ Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# analogy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/
**Frequency rank:** 17154

## Meanings
1. A comparison between two things that are similar in some way, often used to explain something.
2. A similarity or likeness between two things.

## Examples
- The teacher used the analogy of a river to explain how electricity flows.
- There is a clear analogy between the human eye and a camera.

## Derived Forms
- analogal
- analogist
- analogize
- counteranalogy
- disanalogy
- nonanalogy

## Related Forms
- analogue
- example
- homology
- metaphor
- parable
- parallelism
- simile

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *leǵ-
- Root: analogia
- Root: ἀναλογίᾱ

## Etymology
From Latin analogia, from Ancient Greek ἀναλογίᾱ (analogíā), from ἀνα- (ana-) + λόγος (lógos, “speech, reckoning”).

## AI Etymology
Analogy is from Latin analogia, from Ancient Greek ἀναλογίᾱ (analogíā), from ἀνα- (ana-) plus λόγος (lógos, “speech, reckoning”). The historical chain also includes Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-. The formation is semantically transparent: the parts remain visible, while the compound or affix fixes the grammatical role and narrows the modern meaning. In use as a noun, analogy denotes a comparison between two things that are similar in some way, often used to explain something and a similarity or likeness between two things. The same word family continues in derived forms such as analogal, analogist, analogize, and counteranalogy and related entries such as analogue, example, homology, and metaphor.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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