analog

Etymology

It is the American spelling of analogue,^[2][3][4] borrowed from French analogue (“analogous; an analogous thing”),^[5][6][7][8] from Ancient Greek ἀνάλογον (análogon), the neuter of ἀνάλογος (análogos, “proportionate”),^[6][7][9] formed from ἀνά (aná, “according to”) and λόγος (lógos, “ratio, proportion”).^[2][9][1] The American Heritage Dictionary and Etymonline put analogus between the Greek and French words.^[5][2] The OED takes the English word partly from French and partly from the Greek, and notes the earlier analogon.^[7] analogous and analogy are from the same Greek adjective.^[9][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In zoology and botany, a living species that corresponds to a fossil one: 1808.^[7] Merriam-Webster dates the noun to 1804,^[10] and Barnhart and Etymonline to 1826, "an analogous thing";^[6][2] the Greek form analogon was used in English in 1810.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The 19th-century senses were scientific: an organ like another in function but not in origin (1817), a chemical compound closely like another in structure (1837), and in general a thing parallel to another (1837).^[7][2] The modern technical sense comes from computing: an analogue computer, recorded from 1941, works with quantities such as voltage that vary continuously and stand in for the numbers, by analogy with them;^[7][2] it is the opposite of digital.^[7][2] From there the adjective spread to signals (1948), devices (1969) and sound recordings (1979),^[7] and since 1986 the noun has also meant analogue technology or media in general.^[7] Merriam-Webster now also gives the adjective the broad sense "not computerized".^[10] A synthetic food made to imitate a natural one has been called an analogue since 1966.^[7]

Timeline

• 1804 – noun, something analogous (Merriam-Webster's date).^[10]
• 1808 – a species corresponding to a fossil form.^[7]
• 1817 – an analogous part or organ.^[7]
• 1837 – a chemical compound of similar structure; a parallel thing.^[7][2]
• 1844 – adjective, of or being an analogue.^[10]
• 1941 – of a computer, working with continuously variable quantities.^[7]
• 1948 – of signals or data.^[7]
• 1966 – a synthetic food product.^[7]
• 1979 – of a sound or video recording.^[7]
• 1986 – noun, analogue technology or media.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Representing data by a continuously varying physical quantity, such as voltage, rather than by digits; not digital: an analog signal.
2. Of a clock or watch, showing the time with hands on a dial.
3. Not computerized; done offline or by older methods.

Noun

1. Something that is analogous to something else; a parallel.
2. (biology) An organ like another in function but different in structure and origin.
3. (chemistry) A compound with a structure closely like that of another.
4. A synthetic food made to resemble a natural one.

Word family

• analog computer
• analog clock
• analog watch

Related words

• homolog
• homologue
• analogy
• homology
• analogue
• analogous
• logos

Usage notes

Collins treats analog as the US spelling of analogue in all its senses, and as the spelling generally preferred in the computer industry;^[3] the Shorter Oxford likewise gives analog as American and, generally, computing usage.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster