Explanation
A comparison can illuminate one relation while obscuring another. Dissimilitudo makes the unlike aspects consequential. It is not enough to observe that no two things are identical: the analyst must explain which inference the difference affects. A school and a business may share scheduling problems without sharing every obligation. The result can be a more limited, useful analogy rather than its wholesale rejection. Historical rhetorical usage also extends to characterisation, praise and blame. The Atlas foregrounds the examination of models as one application, not as an exhaustive definition.
Movement of thought
1. State the comparison and its relevant resemblance. 2. Identify a particular difference. 3. Connect that difference to an inference under examination. 4. Check what the original resemblance still explains. 5. Return with a qualified claim rather than an all-or-nothing verdict.
Scientific use case
Argumentation research can annotate the compared items, the difference and the challenged inference. Establishing the difference itself may require independent factual evidence; the rhetorical label provides none.
Example
“Conversation is not simply file transfer: disagreement can alter trust as well as information.” The countercheck retains the point that information does pass between speakers. The difference limits the model without erasing its usefulness. Original Atlas formulation.
Counterexample
“Every conversation is different” supplies no useful criterion by itself. A difference does not refute every analogy. Nor does a contrast automatically amount to the absolute opposition associated with some antitheses.
Distinction
Analogy foregrounds relevant similarity; dissimilitudo foregrounds difference. Antithesis foregrounds opposition. Refutation is one possible argumentative aim, not a synonym for the comparison itself.
Effect on thought and perception
Readers gain an alternative to embracing or dismissing a comparison. They can examine its reach and identify the point at which its explanatory value ends.
Resonance
The unfamiliar resists being absorbed into the familiar. Similarity remains available while a distinct feature changes the response it invites.
Etymology
The Latin term names unlikeness. The explanatory English heading specifies a rhetorical act, not merely a measurable distance between objects.
Provenance
DE/EN editorially accepted on 15 October 2026. Historical context, language comparison and source status are shown separately in the full entry.
Cite this entry
Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Dissimilitudo (comparison by difference)“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-ADD-20261015-0005. ATLAS 259, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-ADD-20261015-0005The address remains stable; editorial content may evolve. Editorial reading state: 2026-10-15. Include your access date for precise references.
Guiding question
Which difference changes an inference that an attractive resemblance initially encouraged?
Five coordinate questions
These descriptions explain the entry. They are not yet controlled register values and generate no shared register results.
- Where can the process be observed?
- Comparative statements and their supporting reasons.
- What happens to the material?
- Foreground relevant unlikeness and qualify an inference.
- At what level does a change occur?
- Model interpretation and judgement.
- What temporal structure is involved?
- Comparison and countercheck within discourse or argument.
- How can the description be tested?
- Make the respect of comparison, factual difference and affected inference explicit.
Historical context
The HWRh article documents ancient and later uses of the comparison, including functions beyond rebuttal. The model-testing application developed here is explicitly editorial rather than presented as the whole historical meaning.
Cross-language distinction and terminology
Dissimilarity is an ordinary English noun as well as a possible gloss. Retaining dissimilitudo prevents a descriptive result from silently replacing the procedure of comparing in relevant respects.
Scholarly relations: explained reading links
Each relation is named and explained. These reading links are neither shared register results nor newly canonised relation edges.
- Analogy · Distinction
Opposite emphases in comparison can complement one analysis.
- Antithesis · Distinction
Unlikeness does not require absolute opposition.
Proposed thought pathway
Which relevant difference limits the chosen analogy?
Dissimilitudo (comparison by difference) → Analogy → Machine metaphors → Dissimilitudo (comparison by difference)
Countertest and return
“Every conversation is different” supplies no useful criterion by itself. A difference does not refute every analogy. Nor does a contrast automatically amount to the absolute opposition associated with some antitheses.
This route is an editorial exploration, not a necessary ordering of concepts. Return: Dissimilitudo (comparison by difference)
Source scope and provenance
The texts are editorially accepted. Acceptance does not turn a reference article, abstract or register record into a full primary-source verification. Examples and the proposed thought sequence are independent Atlas applications.
- Historisches Wörterbuch der Rhetorik: Dissimilitudo · Sp. 884–885; Vergleichsfigur und historische Funktionen
Conceptual framework, documented disciplinary history and the lexical explanation within the cited passage.
A consulted reference article is distinguished from its cited historical originals. No exhaustive original-source audit or unsupported first attestation is claimed.