proportion
pronunciation
How to pronounce proportion in British English:
UK [prəˈpɔːʃn]
How to pronounce proportion in American English:
US [prəˈpɔːrʃn]
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- Noun:
- the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole
- magnitude or extent
- balance among the parts of something
- harmonious arrangement or relation of parts or elements within a whole (as in a design)
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- Verb:
- give pleasant proportions to
- adjust in size relative to other things
Word Origin
- proportion (n.)
- late 14c., "due relation of one part to another," also "size, extent; compartative relation in size, degree, number, etc.," from Old French proporcion "measure, proportion" (13c.), from Latin proportionem (nominative proportio) "comparative relation, analogy," from phrase pro portione "according to the relation" (of parts to each other), from pro "for" (see pro-) + ablative of *partio "division," related to pars (see part (n.)). Phrase out of proportion attested by 1670s.My fortunes [are] as ill proportioned as your legs. [John Marston, "Antonio and Mellida," 1602]
- proportion (v.)
- "to adjust or regulate the proportions of," late 14c., from proportion (n.) and in part from Middle French proporcioner and directly from Medieval Latin proportionare. Related: Proportioned; proportioning.
Example
- 1. Proportion also depends on functionality of object .
- 2. Household consumption as a proportion of gdp fell sharply .
- 3. They are giving up an even smaller proportion of voting rights .
- 4. The proportion of americans who are paid by the hour has been rising since the 1970s .
- 5. In the early 2000s the proportion was between 62 % and 63 % .