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ἀναλογία

analogía

G356 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Fundamental meaning: proportion; the state or quality of having a measured or corresponding relationship among parts or elements. In specific contexts, refers to correspondence, analogy, or ratio—especially in mathematical, logical, or rhetorical sense. May refer more generally to a relationship where two things or sets are compared to demonstrate likeness or balance in quantity, quality, or function.

Semantic Range

proportion, ratio, analogy, correspondence, measured relationship, analogy (in rhetoric or logic), rule of comparison

Root / Etymology

From ἀνά ('up, back, again') and λογία, from λόγος ('reason, word, reckoning, account'); thus 'a reckoning up, a correspondence or proportion.' The term is a direct borrowing from classical Greek usage.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Attested from classical Greek onwards (see Aristotle, Plato), ἀναλογία is primarily used in mathematical or philosophical discourse to indicate ratio or proportionality—a specific, usually quantitative, relationship between two sets. In rhetoric and logic, ἀναλογία came to denote analogy or comparison, the demonstration of correspondence between different things based on shared proportions or relationships. In post-classical and Koine Greek (including the Septuagint and New Testament), its occurrences are rare but maintain the classical sense of measured relationship or proportion (Romans 12:6 is the only NT usage, referring to the 'measure,' 'extent,' or 'rule' applied to faith or ability). Standard English translations often render the word 'proportion' but sometimes narrow the sense, failing to capture the wider Greek use of analogy, correspondence, or measured ratio. There is overlap with unrelated Greek semantic fields such as συμμετρία ('symmetry') and σύνταξις ('arrangement'), but ἀναλογία focuses on reasoned or mathematical comparison.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from a compound of ἀνά and λόγος; proportion:--proportion.

Root Family

ἀναλογία (analogía) — proportion, ratio, analogy, measured correspondence

Root ἀναλόγ- to reckon in proportion, to correspond, to relate by measured comparison

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G356-01 ἀναλογίαν analogian N ACC F SG proportion proportional correspondence proportional correspondence 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G356-01 Romans 12:6 ἀναλογίαν analogian N ACC F SG proportion proportional correspondence proportional correspondence
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