proportion

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

Noun

  1. A quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number.
    • “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged dowagers, the worn-out, passionless...
  2. Harmonious relation of parts to each other or to the whole.
  3. Proper or equal share.
    • Let the women[…]do the same things in their proportions and capacities. - 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC:
  4. The relation of one part to another or to the whole with respect to magnitude, quantity, or degree.
    • the proportion of the parts of a building, or of the body
    • The image of Christ made in Pilate's time after his own proportion. - 1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC:
    • Formed in the best proportions of her sex. - 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London:...
  5. A statement of equality between two ratios.
  6. The "rule of three", in which three terms are given to find a fourth.
  7. Size.
    • The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions,...
    • What other television show would feature a gorgeously designed sequence where a horrifically mutated Pierre and Marie Curie, their bodies swollen to Godzilla-like proportions from prolonged exposure to the radiation...

Origin

From Middle English proporcion, from Old French proportion, from Latin prōportiō (“comparative relation, proportion, symmetry, analogy”), from pro (“for, before”) + portio (“share, part”); see portion. By surface analysis, pro- + portion.

Forms

proportions

Derived

blow out of proportion blow out of proportions compound proportion disproportion disproportionate divine proportion equiproportion golden proportion harmonic proportion in proportion inverse proportion misproportion of Koranic proportions out of all proportion out of proportion overproportion proportionable proportional proportionally proportionate proportioner proportionize proportionless proportionment

Verb

  1. To divide into proper shares; to apportion.
    • In order to proportion the braking force to the weight carried by a wheel - a matter of special importance in the braking of wagons - variable leverage systems are now being introduced in which the end of one axle...
  2. To form symmetrically.
  3. To set or render in proportion.
  4. To correspond to.

Forms

proportions proportioning proportioned