analysis

pronunciation

How to pronounce analysis in British English: UK [əˈnæləsɪs] word uk audio image

How to pronounce analysis in American English: US [əˈnæləsɪs] word us audio image

Noun:

an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relations in making up the whole
the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations
a form of literary criticism in which the structure of a piece of writing is analyzed
the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., `the father of the bride' instead of `the bride's father'
a branch of mathematics involving calculus and the theory of limits; sequences and series and integration and differentiation
a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud

Word Origin

analysis: analysis: [16] The underlying etymological notion contained in analysis is of ‘undoing’ or ‘loosening’, so that the component parts are separated and revealed. The word comes ultimately from Greek análusis, a derivative of the compound verb analúein ‘undo’, which was formed from the prefix ana- ‘up, back’ and the verb lúein ‘loosen, free’ (related to English less, loose, lose, and loss).It entered English via medieval Latin, and in the 17th century was anglicized to analyse: ‘The Analyse I gave of the contents of this Verse’, Daniel Rogers, Naaman the Syrian 1642. This did not last long, but it may have provided the impetus for the introduction of the verb analyse, which first appeared around 1600; its later development was supported by French analyser.=> dialysis, less, loose, lose, loss

analysis (n.): 1580s, "resolution of anything complex into simple elements" (opposite of synthesis), from Medieval Latin analysis (15c.), from Greek analysis "a breaking up, a loosening, releasing," noun of action from analyein "unloose, release, set free; to loose a ship from its moorings," in Aristotle, "to analyze," from ana "up, throughout" (see ana-) + lysis "a loosening," from lyein "to unfasten" (see lose). Psychological sense is from 1890. Phrase in the final (or last) analysis (1844), translates French en dernière analyse.