Proportions

How to spell proportions

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce proportions

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does proportions mean?

1. nounThe relative sizes, dimensions, or balance of the parts of something.

Proportions in a sentence

• The proportions of the room made the new sofa look far too large.

• The recipe keeps the proportions of flour to sugar exactly the same every time.

Where does proportions come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin phrase pro portione, meaning 'in respect of each part's share', which fused into the noun proportio, the relationship of one part to another. The element portio simply meant 'a part' or 'a share', the same root that gives us the everyday word 'portion'. English took the word in through Old French proporcion in the late 1300s, originally in the mathematical sense of a ratio between quantities. From there the meaning broadened to cover the relative size, shape, and balance of physical things, so today we speak of a room's proportions or a figure's proportions. Knowing that the 'por' comes straight from portio, a share, helps explain why the spelling keeps that single 'r' rather than doubling, and why it is never spelled with the 'pour' of pouring.

How the word is built

• pro- (in relation to, from Latin pro: for)
• port (share, from Latin portio: a part or share)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)
• -s (plural)