analects

[ an-l-ekts ]

See synonyms for: analects analect on Thesaurus.com

plural noun

selected passages from the writings of an author or of different authors.

Origin of analects

1615–25; <Latin analecta<Greek análekta, neuter plural of análektos (verbal adjective of analégein to pick up, gather up), equivalent to ana-ana- + -lek- gather (variant of -leg-) + -tos verbal adjective suffix

Also an·a·lec·ta [an-l-ek-tuh]. /ˌæn lˈɛk tə/.

Other words from analects

an·a·lec·tic, adjective

Words Nearby analects

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use analects in a sentence

He wrote: “analects,” etc., and is credited with having compiled the “Ancient Poems.”
Through the Year With Famous Authors | Mabel Patterson
We are told in the Confucian analects that the master said, “The accomplished scholar is not a utensil.”
Village Life in China | Arthur H. Smith
The doctrine of the sage is clearly expressed in the analects, and amounts only to courtesy and propriety.
The Religions of Japan | William Elliot Griffis
But by this method one misses much of the characterisation which is such an attractive feature of the analects.
The Sayings of Confucius | Confucius
The works of Mencius abound, like the Confucian analects, in sententious utterances.
A History of Chinese Literature | Herbert A. Giles

British Dictionary definitions for analects

analects

analecta (ˌænəˈlɛktə)

/ (ˈænəˌlɛkts) /

pl n

selected literary passages from one or more works

Origin of analects

C17: via Latin from Greek analekta, from analegein to collect up, from legein to gather

Derived forms of analects

analectic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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