Added 9 October 2026
analogous
/əˈnæl.ə.ɡəs/ adjective
Latin root: analogus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about analogous at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Having analogy, the status of an analogue; corresponding to something else; bearing some resemblance or similar proportion (often followed by "to".)
- Functionally similar, but arising through convergent evolution rather than being homologous.
Origin
From Latin analogus, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓νᾰ́λογος (ănắlogos); Its English equivalent is analogue + -ous. The application to similar features of organisms is nearly as old as the general sense. Recognizably modern uses of the second sense, distinguishing analogous from homologous, appear in the mid-19th century.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)