  Understanding conceptions of analysis is not simply a matter of  attending to the use of the word ‘analysis’ and its  cognates—or obvious equivalents in languages other than  English, such as ‘analusis’ in Greek or  ‘Analyse’ in German. Socratic definition is  arguably a form of conceptual analysis, yet the term  ‘analusis’ does not occur anywhere in  Plato's dialogues (see   Section 2  below). Nor, indeed, do we find it in Euclid's  Elements, which is the classic text for understanding  ancient Greek geometry: Euclid presupposed what came to be known as  the method of analysis in presenting his proofs  ‘synthetically’. In Latin,  ‘resolutio’ was used to render the Greek word  ‘analusis’, and although  ‘resolution’ has a different range of meanings, it is  often used synonymously with ‘analysis’ (see the  supplementary section on   Renaissance Philosophy).  In Aristotelian syllogistic theory, and especially from the time of  Descartes, forms of analysis have also involved  ‘reduction’; and in early analytic philosophy it was  ‘reduction’ that was seen as the goal of philosophical  analysis (see especially the supplementary section on   The Cambridge School of Analysis).  