Etymologically
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analog

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈænəˌlɒɡ/[1]
  • US: /ˈænəlɔɡ/, /ˈænəˌlɒɡ/[1]

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
  • 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