Compare

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kəmˈpɛɚ/

Definitions

1. To examine two or more things to identify their similarities and differences
2. To analyze and evaluate the characteristics of two or more subjects to determine how they are alike or different
3. To assess and contrast different items or concepts in order to reveal both their similarities and disparities

Etymology: The most striking twist here is that English once had a perfectly good native word for this job and lost it. Old English used "metan," meaning both "to compare" and "to measure," a sense that survives in the idea of gauging one thing against another. Over the Middle Ages that native word was pushed aside by the French-influenced "comparen," which came into English from Old French "comparer." The French verb descends from Latin "comparare," whose original sense was "to prepare" or "to procure," not to weigh things against each other. That meaning comes from "compar," meaning "like or equal to another," built from the prefix "com-" ("together") and "par" ("equal"). So the Latin root is essentially "equal together," and the act of comparing grew out of putting two equal-seeming things side by side.

Synonyms: contrast, evaluate, assess, analyze, examine

Antonyms: ignore, disregard, neglect