Definition

• n. - 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.
• n. - 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.
• n. - The tracing of things to their source, and the resolving of knowledge into its original principles.
• n. - The resolving of problems by reducing the conditions that are in them to equations.
• n. - A syllabus, or table of the principal heads of a discourse, disposed in their natural order.
• n. - A brief, methodical illustration of the principles of a science. In this sense it is nearly synonymous with synopsis.