PROPORTION

proportion, proportionality, balance

(noun) harmonious arrangement or relation of parts or elements within a whole (as in a design); “in all perfectly beautiful objects there is found the opposition of one part to another and a reciprocal balance”- John Ruskin

proportion, dimension

(noun) magnitude or extent; “a building of vast proportions”

proportion, ratio

(noun) the relation between things (or parts of things) with respect to their comparative quantity, magnitude, or degree; “an inordinate proportion of the book is given over to quotations”; “a dry martini has a large proportion of gin”

proportion

(noun) the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole

symmetry, proportion

(noun) balance among the parts of something

proportion

(verb) adjust in size relative to other things

proportion

(verb) give pleasant proportions to; “harmonize a building with those surrounding it”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

proportion (countable and uncountable, plural proportions)

(countable) A quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number.

(uncountable) Harmonious relation of parts to each other or to the whole.

(countable) Proper or equal share.

The relation of one part to another or to the whole with respect to magnitude, quantity, or degree.

(mathematics, countable) A statement of equality between two ratios.

(math, archaic) The "rule of three", in which three terms are given to find a fourth.

(countable, chiefly, in the plural) Size.

Verb

proportion (third-person singular simple present proportions, present participle proportioning, simple past and past participle proportioned)

(transitive) To divide into proper shares; to apportion.

(transitive) To form symmetrically.

(transitive, arts) To set or render in proportion.

(transitive, archaic) To correspond to.

Source: Wiktionary

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Pro*por"tion, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. proportio; pro before + portio part or share. See Portion.]

1. The relation or adaptation of one portion to another, or to the whole, as respect magnitude, quantity, or degree; comparative relation; ratio; as, the proportion of the parts of a building, or of the body. The image of Christ, made after his own proportion. Ridley. Formed in the best proportions of her sex. Sir W. Scott. Documents are authentic and facts are true precisely in proportion to the support which they afford to his theory. Macaulay.

2. Harmonic relation between parts, or between different things of the same kind; symmetrical arrangement or adjustment; symmetry; as, to be out of proportion. "Let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith." Rom. xii. 6.

3. The portion one receives when a whole is distributed by a rule or principle; equal or proper share; lot. Let the women . . . do the same things in their proportions and capacities. Jer. Taylor.

4. A part considered comparatively; a share.

5. (Math.) (a) The equality or similarity of ratios, especially of geometrical ratios; or a relation among quantities such that the quotient of the first divided by the second is equal to that of the third divided by the fourth; -- called also geometrical proportion, in distinction from arithmetical proportion, or that in which the difference of the first and second is equal to the difference of the third and fourth.

Note: Proportion in the mathematical sense differs from ratio. Ratio is the relation of two quantities of the same kind, as the ratio of 5 to 10, or the ratio of 8 to 16. Proportion is the sameness or likeness of two such relations. Thus, 5 to 10 as 8 to 16; that is, 5 bears the same relation to 10 as 8 does to 16. Hence, such numbers are said to be in proportion. Proportion is expressed by symbols thus: a:b::c:d, or a:b = c:d, or a/b = c/d. (b) The rule of three, in arithmetic, in which the three given terms, together with the one sought, are proportional. Continued proportion, Inverse proportion, etc. See under Continued, Inverse, etc.

– Harmonical, or Musical, proportion, a relation of three or four quantities, such that the first is to the last as the difference between the first two is to the difference between the last two; thus, 2, 3, 6, are in harmonical proportion; for 2 is to 6 as 1 to 3. Thus, 24, 16, 12, 9, are harmonical, for 24:9::8:3.

– In proportion, according as; to the degree that. "In proportion as they are metaphysically true, they are morally and politically false." Burke.

Pro*por"tion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Proportioned; p. pr. & vb. n. Proportioning.] Etym: [Cf. F. proportionner. Cf. Proportionate, v.]

1. To adjust in a suitable proportion, as one thing or one part to another; as, to proportion the size of a building to its height; to proportion our expenditures to our income. In the loss of an object we do not proportion our grief to the real value . . . but to the value our fancies set upon it. Addison.

2. To form with symmetry or suitableness, as the parts of the body. Nature had proportioned her without any fault. Sir P. Sidney.

3. To divide into equal or just shares; to apportion.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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