Comparisons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of examining two or more items to identify shared traits or distinctions A systematic evaluation that highlights the relative strengths and characteristics of different entities The methodology used to analyze and contrast subjects to understand their respective qualities or merits
2. The process of looking at two or more things side by side to discover how they are alike or different
3. A detailed review where multiple subjects are measured against each other to identify connections and contrasts

Etymology: "Comparisons" is simply the plural of "comparison," so its history is the history of that noun. The Latin root is "comparāre," meaning to match up or pair things, built from "com-" (together) and "par" (equal, a pair). From it came the noun "comparātiōnem," which carried the sense of a setting-side-by-side or a weighing of one thing against another. The word reached English by way of Old French "comparison," which took the Latin noun almost unchanged. Middle English then wrote it as "comparisoun," and English speakers kept the sense of holding two things up to each other and judging them, a sense that remains at the heart of the word today.

Synonyms: contrast, differentiation, evaluation, assessment, analogy

Antonyms: similarity, sameness, equivalence, resemblance, uniformity