pro·por·tion (pr -pôr sh n, -p r -)n.1. A part considered in relation to the whole. 2. A relationship between things or parts of things with respect to comparative magnitude, quantity, or degree: the proper proportion between oil and vinegar in the dressing. 3. A relationship between quantities such that if one varies then another varies in a manner dependent on the first: "We do not always find visible happiness in proportion to visible virtue" Samuel Johnson. 4. Agreeable or harmonious relation of parts within a whole; balance or symmetry. 5. Dimensions; size. Often used in the plural. 6. Mathematics A statement of equality between two ratios. Four quantities, a, b, c, d, are said to be in proportion if a/b = c/d . tr.v. pro·por·tioned, pro·por·tion·ing, pro·por·tions 1. To adjust so that proper relations between parts are attained. 2. To form the parts of with balance or symmetry.
[Middle English proporcion, from Old French proportion, from Latin pr porti , pr porti n-, from pr porti ne, according to (each) part : pr , according to; see pro-1 + porti ne, ablative of porti , part; see per -2 in Indo-European roots.]
pro·por tion·a·ble adj. pro·por tion·a·bly adv. pro·por tion·er n. pro·por tion·ment n. Synonyms: proportion, harmony, symmetry, balance These nouns mean aesthetic arrangement marked by proper distribution of elements. Proportion is the agreeable relation of parts within a whole: a house with rooms of gracious proportion. Harmony is the pleasing interaction or appropriate combination of elements: the harmony of your facial features. Symmetry and balance both imply an arrangement of parts on either side of a dividing line, but symmetry frequently emphasizes mirror-image correspondence of parts, while balance often suggests dissimilar parts that offset each other harmoniously: flowers planted in perfect symmetry around the pool. "In all perfectly beautiful objects, there is found the opposition of one part to another, and a reciprocal balance" John Ruskin. |