In the field ofsemantics, the termshypernymy andhyponymy identify thesemantic relations between ageneric term (hypernym) and aspecific term (hyponym); moreover, the hypernym (generic term) also is known as anumbrella term, ablanket term, and as asupertype of category.[1][2] A basic concept of hyponymy is thattype of cannot be differentiated, whereas aninstance of can be differentiated, thus the noun "city" is a hyponym (naming a type of population centre) of the generic terms "capital city" and the "capital", whereas the terms "Paris" and "London" each is aninstance of a specific city.[3][4][5]
As a type of category, the hyponym names asubtype of the hypernym which namesthe set. Thesemantic field of the hyponym is included to the semantic field of the hypernym; thus the semantic relations among the specific terms "pigeon", "crow", and "hen" which are hyponyms of the generic-term categories "bird" and "animal", therefore, theumbrella terms "bird" and "animal" identify the sets (the hypernyms) that comprise the subsets (the hyponyms) of "pigeon", "crow", and "hen".[6]
In the fields oflinguistics andsemantics, ofgeneral semantics andontologies, the termhyponymy (under name) [from Ancient Greek ὑπό (hupó) 'under' and ὄνυμα (ónuma) 'name'] indicates the superordinate–subordinate relationship between ageneric term (the hypernym) and aspecific instance of the generic term (the hyponym). A hyponym is a word or a phrase with a semantic field more specific than the broader semantic field of its hypernym, (a.k.a. thesuperordinate category).
The relationship between the hypernym and the hyponym is that a set comprises subsets; however that concrete distinction of set-and-subset does not apply to abstract words such asimagine,understand, andknowledge, because hyponyms usually refer to concrete common nouns and noun phrases. As in the case of common nouns, the hypernyms of verbs and verbal phrases are umbrella terms of action and inaction, e.g. the verbal phrasesto stare andto gaze,to view andto peer are subordinate terms of the superordinate term, the verbal phraseto look, which is the umbrella term that comprises the example phrases that describe specific instances of the action oflooking.
The meaning relation (of denotation and of connotation) between hyponyms and hypernyms applies to lexical items of the samepart of speech word class and holds between amongword senses rather than individual words, thus the wordscrewdriver, as generally understood, refers to thescrewdriver tool, and not to the alcoholicscrewdriver cocktail.
Hypernymy and hyponymy areconverse relations. If X is a kind of Y, then X is a hyponym of Y and Y is a hypernym of X.[7] Hyponymy is atransitive relation: if X is a hyponym of Y, and Y is a hyponym of Z, then X is a hyponym of Z.[8] For example,violet is a hyponym ofpurple andpurple is a hyponym ofcolor; thereforeviolet is a hyponym ofcolor. A word can be both a hypernym and a hyponym: for examplepurple is a hyponym of color but itself is a hypernym of the broad spectrum of shades of purple between the range ofcrimson andviolet.
The hierarchical structure of semantic fields can be seen in hyponymy.[9] These can be conceptualized as a vertical arrangement, where the higher level is more general and the lower level is more specific.[9] For example,living things will be the highest level followed byplants andanimals, and the lowest level may comprisedog,cat andwolf.[9]
Taxonymy (not to be confused with, though related to,taxonomy) is a sub-variety of hyponymy. Within the structure of a taxonomic lexical hierarchy, two types of hyponymic relation may be distinguished: the first—exemplified in "An X is a Y"—corresponds to so-called "simple" hyponymy; the second—that which is exemplified in "An X is akind/type of Y"—is more discriminating, and functions as the "vertical" relation in the taxonomy. This latter relation is that which may be termedtaxonymy.[10]
(Note that a taxonomic lexical hierarchy is structured by, in addition to the above inclusion relations, their corresponding relations of exclusion: "A Z is not a Y", orincompatibility; and "A Z is a different kind/type of Y than X", orco-taxonymy.)[10]
If the hypernym Z consists of hyponyms X and Y, then X and Y are identified as co-hyponyms, also known as coordinate terms. Co-hyponyms are labelled as such when separate hyponyms share the same hypernym but are not hyponyms of one another, unless they happen to be synonymous.[7] For example,screwdriver,scissors,knife, andhammer are all co-hyponyms of one another and hyponyms oftool, but not hyponyms of one another: *"A hammer is a type ofknife" is false.
Co-hyponyms are often but not always related to one another by the relation of incompatibility. For example,apple,peach andplum are co-hyponyms offruit. However, anapple is not apeach, which is also not aplum. Thus, they are incompatible. Nevertheless, co-hyponyms are not necessarily incompatible in allsenses. Aqueen andmother are both hyponyms ofwoman but there is nothing preventing thequeen from being amother.[11] This shows that compatibility may be relevant.
A word is an autohyponym if it is used for both a hypernym and its hyponym:[12] it has a strictersense that is entirely a subset of a broader sense. For example, the worddog describes both the speciesCanis familiaris and male individuals ofCanis familiaris, so it is possible to say "That dog isn't a dog, it's a bitch" ("That hypernym Z isn't a hyponym Z, it's a hyponym Y"). The term "autohyponym" was coined by linguistLaurence R. Horn, in his 1984 paper "Ambiguity, negation, and the London School of Parsimony". LinguistRuth Kempson had already observed that if there are hyponyms for one part of a set but not another, the hypernym can complement the existing hyponym by being used for the remaining part. For example, fingers describe all digits on a hand, but the existence of the wordthumb for the first finger means that fingers can also be used for "non-thumb digits on a hand".[13] Autohyponymy is also called "verticalpolysemy".[a][14]
Horn called this "licensedpolysemy", but found that autohyponyms also formed even when there is no other hyponym.Yankee is autohyponymous because it is a hyponym (native of New England) and its hypernym (native of the United States), even though there is no other hyponym of Yankee (as native of the United States) that means "not a native of New England".[b][13] Similarly, theverb to drink (a beverage) is a hypernym for to drink (an alcoholic beverage).[13]
In some cases, autohyponyms duplicate existing, distinct hyponyms. The hypernym "smell" (to emit any smell) has a hyponym "stink" (to emit a bad smell), but is autohyponymous because "smell" can also mean "to emit a bad smell", even though there is no "to emit a smell that isn't bad" hyponym.[13]
Hyperonym andhypernym mean the same thing, with both in use by linguists. The formhypernym interprets the-o- ofhyponym as a part ofhypo, such as inhypertension andhypotension. However, etymologically the-o- is part of the Greek stemónoma. In other combinations with this stem, e.g.synonym, it is never elided. Therefore,hyperonym is etymologically more faithful thanhypernym.[15]Hyperonymy is used, for instance, byJohn Lyons, who does not mentionhypernymy and preferssuperordination.[16] The nominalizationhyperonymy is rarely used, because the neutral term to refer to the relationship ishypernymy.
Computer science often terms this relationship an "is-a" relationship. For example, the phrase "Red is-a color" can be used to describe the hyponymic relationship betweenred andcolor.
Hyponymy is the most frequently encoded relation amongsynsets used in lexical databases such asWordNet. These semantic relations can also be used to comparesemantic similarity by judging the distance between two synsets and to analyseanaphora.
As a hypernym can be understood as a more general word than its hyponym, the relation is used insemantic compression by generalization to reduce a level ofspecialization.
The notion of hyponymy is particularly relevant tolanguage translation, as hyponyms are very common across languages. For example, in Japanese the word for older brother isani (兄), and the word for younger brother isotōto (弟). An English-to-Japanese translator presented with a phrase containing the English wordbrother would have to choose which Japanese word equivalent to use. This would be difficult, because abstract information (such as the speakers' relative ages) is often not available duringmachine translation.
Umbrella term is also called a hypernym
umbrealla term, or hypernym
Synaptic plasticity is a hypernym (umbrella term)
Hypernym can also be called an "Umbrella term"
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