Meaning

noun an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relations in making up the whole

noun the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations

noun a form of literary criticism in which the structure of a piece of writing is analyzed

originFrom Medieval Latin analysis, from Ancient Greek ἀνάλυσις (análusis), from ἀναλύω (analúō, “to unravel, investigate”), from ἀνα- (ana-, “thoroughly”) + λύω (lúō, “to loosen”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0