analýein

Analýein is a Greek verb meaning to loosen up, to disentangle, and by extension to analyze. In classical Greek, ἀναλύειν (analýein) described the act of breaking something into its constituent parts, whether a physical material or a line of reasoning. The related noun analysis denotes the process or result of such decomposition.

Etymology: The form comes from ana- meaning up or again and luō meaning to loosen, from a common Proto-Indo-European root. The sense of breaking into parts gave rise to the general method of analysis. The English words analysis and analyze are borrowed through Latin and French from the Greek term.

Usage: Analýein appears in ancient texts to describe dissecting arguments, descriptions of natural phenomena, or practical tasks that require separation into elements. In modern usage, analysis refers to a method of inquiry that proceeds by decomposition: identifying parts, relationships, and functions to understand the whole. In philosophy, analytic approaches emphasize logical clarification and component-wise scrutiny; in mathematics, analysis refers to the study of limits, continuity, and related structures; in linguistics and data science, analysis involves parsing, measurement, and interpretation.

Modern Greek forms: In contemporary Greek, the verb is αναλύω (anályo) meaning to analyze, and the noun ανάλυση (análysi) meaning analysis. The term analýein and its derivatives thus persist in both language and scholarly discourse, shaping terms such as analysis, analytical, and analyst in many languages.