analogy

noun (plural analogies)

• a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification:an analogy between the workings of nature and those of human societies [mass noun]:he interprets logical functions by analogy with machines
• a correspondence or partial similarity: the syndrome is called deep dysgraphia because of its analogy to deep dyslexia
• a thing which is comparable to something else in significant respects: works of art were seen as an analogy for works of nature
• [mass noun] Logic a process of arguing from similarity in known respects to similarity in other respects: argument from analogy
• [mass noun] Linguistics a process by which new words and inflections are created on the basis of regularities in the form of existing ones.
• [mass noun] Biology the resemblance of function between organs that have a different evolutionary origin.