Analytic

How to spell analytic

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce analytic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does analytic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to or proceeding by careful analysis; breaking a subject down into its parts to examine it logically.
2. adjectiveIn logic and philosophy, of a statement that is true purely by virtue of its meaning, independent of how the world actually is.

Analytic in a sentence

• The role demands an analytic mind that can sift through messy data.

• The lecturer explained that an analytic truth holds regardless of any observation.

• Her analytic approach to the budget exposed several hidden errors.

• The essay distinguished analytic statements from empirical ones.

Where does analytic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek analytikos, meaning 'skilled in resolving or breaking down', which was built on the verb analyein, 'to unloose' or 'to resolve into parts'. That verb joined ana-, meaning 'up' or 'throughout', with lyein, 'to loosen' or 'to set free', so the literal image is of untying something into its components. It passed through Latin analyticus and Medieval French before settling into English in the early 1600s, at first chiefly in the language of logic and philosophy. The same lyein root that loosens here also lurks inside 'analysis', 'paralysis', and 'catalyst', all of which involve loosening or breaking apart. Remembering that the core is lyt, not the more common 'lit', helps fix the tricky middle of the spelling, since the unstressed vowels offer the writer little guidance.

How the word is built

• ana- (up, throughout)
• lyt (from Greek lyein: to loosen, undo)
• -ic (adjective suffix)