A resolution of anything, whether an object of the senses or of the intellect, into its constituent or original elements; an examination of the component parts of a subject, each separately, as the words which compose a sentence, the tones of a tune, or the simple propositions which enter into an argument. It is opposed to synthesis.
The separation of a compound substance, by chemical processes, into its constituents, with a view to ascertain either (a) what elements it contains, or (b) how much of each element is present. The former is called qualitative, and the latter quantitative analysis.
The tracing of things to their source, and the resolving of knowledge into its original principles.
The resolving of problems by reducing the conditions that are in them to equations.
A syllabus, or table of the principal heads of a discourse, disposed in their natural order.
The process of ascertaining the name of a species, or its place in a system of classification, by means of an analytical table or key.
The act of interpreting; explanation of what is obscure; translation; version; construction; as, the interpretation of a foreign language, of a dream, or of an enigma.
The sense given by an interpreter; exposition or explanation given; meaning; as, commentators give various interpretations of the same passage of Scripture.
The power or explaining.
An artist’s way of expressing his thought or embodying his conception of nature.
The act or process of applying general principles or formulæ to the explanation of the results obtained in special cases.
