Analogy

This article/section is a stub — probably a pile of half-sorted notes and is probably a first version, is not well-checked, so may have incorrect bits. (Feel free to ignore, or tell me)

In the broader sense, analogy is the transfer information from one subject to another, through an explicit comparison between two conceptual domains.

Usually when similarities mean you can probably save time bootstrapping knowledge in that other domain, by avoiding explanations from scratch.

In a narrower sense, analogy is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular -- as opposed to deduction, induction, and abduction, where at least one of the premises or the conclusion is general. The word analogy can also

Linguistic realizations of analogy include

• exemplification
• metaphors
• similes
• allegories
• parables

Does not include metonymy and such - those associate rather than transfer information.