proportion
 pro·por·tion (prə-pôrʹshən, -pōrʹ-)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 prōportiō, prōportiōn-, from prō portiōne, according to (each) part : prō, according to; see pro-1 + portiōne, ablative of portiō, part; See perə-2 in Indo-European Roots.] pro·porʹtion·a·ble adj.pro·porʹtion·a·bly adv.pro·porʹtion·er n.pro·porʹtion·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).
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