Anagal´lis, a genus of the nat. ord. Primulaceæ, to which belongs the Pimpernel, the 'poor man's weather-glass'. See Pimpernel.
Anagni (a˙-nän´yē), a town of Italy, province of Rome; the seat of a bishopric erected in 487. Pop. 10,400.
An´agram, the transposition of the letters of a word or words so as to form a new word or phrase, a connection in meaning being frequently preserved; thus, evil, vile; Horatio Nelson, Honor est a Nilo (honour is from the Nile). The seventeenth century was the golden age of the anagram, but it was employed by the Hebrews and the Greeks.
Anahuac (a˙-na˙-wa˙k´; Mex., 'near the water'), an old Mexican name applied to the plateau of the city of Mexico, from the lakes situated there, generally elevated from 6000 to 9000 feet above the sea.
An´akim, the posterity of Anak, the son of Arba, noted in sacred history for their fierceness and loftiness of stature. Their stronghold was Kirjath-arba or Hebron, which was taken and destroyed by Caleb and the tribe of Judah.
Anakolu´thon. See Anacoluthon.
Analep´tic, a restorative or invigorating medicine or diet.
An´alogue, in comparative anatomy an organ in one species or group having the same function as an organ of different structure in another species or group, as the wing of a bird and that of an insect, both serving for flight. Organs in different animals having a similar anatomical structure, development, and relative position, independent of function or form, such as the arm of a man and the wing of a bird, are termed homologues.
Anal´ogy is the mode of reasoning from resemblance to resemblance. When we find on attentive examination resemblances in objects apparently diverse, and in which at first no such resemblances were discovered, a presumption arises that other resemblances may be found by further examination in these or other objects likewise apparently diverse. It is on the belief in a unity in nature that all inferences from analogy rest. The general inference from analogy is always perfectly valid. Wherever there is resemblance, similarity or identity of cause somewhere may be justly inferred; but to infer the particular cause without particular proof is always to reason falsely. Analogy is of great use and constant application in science, in philosophy, and in the common business of life.
Anal´ysis, the resolution of an object, whether of the senses or the intellect, into its component elements. The word was introduced by Boyle in the seventeenth century. In philosophy it is the mode of resolving a compound idea into its simple parts, in order to consider them more distinctly, and arrive at a more precise knowledge of the whole. It is opposed to synthesis, by which we combine and class our perceptions, and contrive expressions for our thoughts, so as to represent their several divisions, classes, and relations.