Words spelled or pronounced the same with different meanings
Inlinguistics,homonyms are words which are eitherhomographs—words that have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation)—orhomophones—words that have the same pronunciation (regardless of spelling)—or both.[1] Using this definition, the wordsrow (propel with oars),row (a linear arrangement) androw (an argument) are homonyms because they are homographs (though only the first two are homophones); so are the wordssee (vision) andsea (body of water), because they are homophones (though not homographs).
A more restrictive and technical definition requires that homonyms be simultaneously homographsand homophones[1]—that is, they have identical spellingand pronunciation but different meanings. Examples include the pairstalk (part of a plant) andstalk (follow/harass a person) and the pairleft (past tense ofleave) andleft (opposite ofright).
A distinction is sometimes made between true homonyms, which are unrelated in origin, such asskate (glide on ice) andskate (the fish), andpolysemous homonyms, or polysemes, which have a shared origin, such asmouth (of a river) andmouth (of an animal).[2][3]
The relationship between a set of homonyms is calledhomonymy, and the associated adjective ishomonymous,homonymic, or in Latin,equivocal. Additionally, the adjectivehomonymous can be used wherever two items share the same name,[4][5] independent of how closely they are related in terms of their meaning or etymology. For example, the word "once" (meaning "one time") is homonymous with the term for "eleven" in Spanish (once).
The wordhomonym comes from theGreek ὁμώνυμος (homonymos), meaning "having the same name,"[6] compounded from ὁμός (homos) "common, same, similar"[7] and ὄνομα (onoma) "name."[8]
Euler diagram showing the relationships between homonyms (between blue and green) and related linguistic concepts.
Several similar linguistic concepts are related to homonymy. These include:
Homographs (literally "same writing") are usually defined as words that share the same spelling, regardless of how they are pronounced.[note 1] If they are pronounced the same then they are also homophones (and homonyms) – for example,bark (the sound of a dog) andbark (the skin of a tree). If they are pronounced differently then they are alsoheteronyms – for example,bow (the front of a ship) andbow (a ranged weapon).
Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.[note 2] If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are alsoheterographs (literally "different writing"). Homographic examples includerose (flower) androse (past tense ofrise). Heterographic examples includeto,too,two, andthere,their,they’re. Due to their similar yet non-identical pronunciation in American English,ladder andlatter do not qualify as homophones, but rathersynophones[10] orhomoiophones.[11][12]
Heteronyms (literally "different name") are the subset of homographs (words that share the same spelling) that have different pronunciations (and meanings).[note 3] Such words includedesert (to abandon) anddesert (arid region);tear (to rip) andtear (a drop of moisture formed in one eye);row (to argue or an argument) androw (as in to row a boat or a row of seats – a pair of homophones). Heteronyms are also sometimes calledheterophones (literally "different sound").
Polysemes are words with the same spelling and distinct butrelated meanings. The distinction between polysemy and homonymy is often subtle and subjective, and not all sources consider polysemous words to be homonyms. Words such asmouth, meaning either the orifice on one's face, or the opening of acave orriver, are polysemous and may or may not be considered homonyms.
Capitonyms are words that share the same spelling but have different meanings when capitalized (and may or may not have different pronunciations). Such words includepolish (make shiny) andPolish (from Poland);march (walk in step) andMarch (the thirdmonth of theYear) and the pair:reading (using a book) andReading (towns in, among other places,England).
These meanings represent at least threeetymologically separatelexemes, but share the one form,fluke.[13] Fluke is also a capitonym, in thatFluke Corporation (commonly referred to as simply "Fluke") is a manufacturer of industrial testing equipment.
Similarly, a riverbank, a savingsbank, abank of switches, and abank shot in the game of pool share a common spelling and pronunciation, but differ in meaning.
The wordsbow andbough are examples where there are two meanings associated with a single pronunciation and spelling (the weapon and the knot); two meanings with two different pronunciations (the knot and the act of bending at the waist), and two distinct meanings sharing the same sound but different spellings (bow, the act of bending at the waist, andbough, the branch of a tree). In addition, it has several related but distinct meanings – a bent line is sometimes called a 'bowed' line, reflecting its similarity to the weapon. Even according to the most restrictive definitions, various pairs of sounds and meanings ofbow,Bow andbough arehomonyms,homographs,homophones,heteronyms,heterographs,capitonyms and arepolysemous.
bow – a long stick with horse hair that is used to play certainstring instruments such as theviolin
bow – to bend forward at the waist in respect (e.g. "bow down")
bow – the front of the ship (e.g. "bow and stern")
bow – a kind of tied ribbon (e.g. bow on a present, a bowtie)
bow – to bend outward at the sides (e.g. a "bow-legged" cowboy)
The wordsthere,their, andthey're are examples of three words that are of a singular pronunciation, have different spellings and vastly different meanings. These three words are commonly misused (or, alternatively, misspelled).[14]
there – "The bow shot the arrowthere," he said as he pointed.
their – "It wastheir bow and arrow." the Mother said.
they're –They're not going to get to shoot the bow again after puncturing the tire (tyre) on Daddy's car. (Contraction ofThey andAre.)
The wordsmetal andmettle are polysemes and homophones, but not homographs.
Homonymy can lead to communicative conflicts and thus trigger lexical (onomasiological) change.[15] This is known ashomonymic conflict. This leads to a species ofinformal fallacy of thought and argument called by the latin nameequivocation.
^Some sources restrict the term "homograph" to words that have the same spelling butdifferent pronunciations. See, for example,The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems, p. 215 (Wiley-Blackwell, 1999) andThe Encyclopædia Britannica (14th Edition) (entry for "homograph").
^Some sources restrict the term "homophone" to words that have the same pronunciation butdifferent spellings. See, for example,The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems, p. 202 (Wiley-Blackwell, 1999) andThe Encyclopædia Britannica (14th Edition) (entry for "homograph").
^Some sources do not require that heteronyms have different pronunciations. See, for example, the archivedEncarta dictionary entry (which states that heteronyms "often" differ in pronunciation) and the"Fun with Words" website (which states that heteronyms "sometimes" have different pronunciations).
^ὁμώνυμος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
^ὁμός, King George V Liddell, Robert Scott,A Greek-English Lexicons, on Perseus Digital Library
^ὄνομα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
^Laufer, Batia."A Problem in Vocabulary Learning—Synophones"(PDF). p. 295.I suggest that words similar in sound but different in meaning should be referred to as synophones (cf. synonym = word of similar meaning).
^Gnanasundaram, D.; Venkatesh, L. (2006).Synophones & Homophones. Sura Books.ISBN9788172543167.
^On this phenomenon see Williams, Edna R. (1944),The Conflict of Homonyms in English, [Yale Studies in English 100], New Haven: Yale University Press,Grzega, Joachim (2004),Bezeichnungswandel: Wie, Warum, Wozu? Ein Beitrag zur englischen und allgemeinen Onomasiologie, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 216ff., and Grzega, Joachim (2001d), “Über Homonymenkonflikt als Auslöser von Wortuntergang”, in: Grzega, Joachim (2001c),Sprachwissenschaft ohne Fachchinesisch: 7 aktuelle Studien für alle Sprachinteressierten, Aachen: Shaker, p. 81-98.
