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similarity

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 07:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌsɪm.ɪˈlæɹ.ɪ.ti/, /ˌsɪm.ɪˈlæɹ.ə.ti/[1]
  • US: /ˌsɪm.əˈlæɹ.ə.ti/, /ˌsɪm.əˈlɛɹ.ə.ti/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English similar + -ity,[2][3][4][5] perhaps also after French similarité.[3][4] The OED compares Medieval Latin similaritas, recorded from before 1540.[2] The adjective similar goes back, through similaire, to Latin similis (“like, resembling”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of being similar; likeness: 1615, in Helkiah Crooke's anatomy, Mikrokosmographia.[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1664 and Etymonline the 1660s.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it simply as likeness.[7] As a count noun, a point in which one thing resembles another, it is recorded from 1750, in Benjamin Franklin's writings on electricity, and is usually plural;[2] Etymonline dates the plural similarities to 1838.[4]

Timeline

  • 1615 – likeness, resemblance.[2]
  • 1664 – Merriam-Webster's first record.[6]
  • 1750 – a point of resemblance.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The quality or state of being similar; resemblance: The similarity between the two sisters is striking.[6][2]
  2. A point or feature in which things are alike, usually in the plural: There are several similarities between the two plans.[2][3]

Word family

  • dissimilarity
  • nonsimilarity
  • self-similarity

Usage notes

Dictionary.com lists similitude, correspondence and parallelism as near synonyms, and difference as the opposite.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.