homonym etymology

Etymology

The word "homonym" is derived from two Greek words:

• homo-: meaning "same"
• -onym: meaning "name"

Meaning

A homonym is a word that has the same spelling and pronunciation as another word but has a different meaning.

Origin

The term "homonym" was first used in the early 17th century by the English philologist John Wilkins in his work "Mercury, or the Secret and Swift Messenger."

Examples

Examples of homonyms include:

• bank (a financial institution) and bank (the side of a river)
• bat (a nocturnal mammal) and bat (a sports implement)
• fair (just or impartial) and fair (an exhibition or carnival)
• lie (to recline) and lie (a falsehood)
• minute (a unit of time) and minute (small or insignificant)

Types of Homonyms

There are two main types of homonyms:

• Homographs: Words that are spelled the same but have different pronunciations and meanings (e.g., "bow" and "bow")
• Homophones: Words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently and have different meanings (e.g., "there," "their," and "they're")

homonym relate terms

• heteronym

  Etymology From Modern Latin heteronym from Greek heteros different onyma name

• hetero

  Etymology The term hetero is derived from the Greek word heteros which means differ

• homonym

  Etymology The word homonym is derived from two Greek words homo meaning same on

• homonymous

  Homonymous Etymology Homonymous etymology refers to the phenomenon where two or more word

• homonym

  Etymology The word homonym is derived from two Greek words homo meaning same on

• gnome

  Etymology The word gnome derives from the Latin gnomus which was the Roman renderin

• word

  Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their development through history It in

• cousin

  Etymology The word cousin comes from the Old French word cosin which in turn is deri

• empathy

  Etymology Greek empatheia Latin empatia Middle French empatie English empath

• educate

  Etymology Latin educare e out ducere to lead Meaning To lead out

• solace

  Etymology The word solace comes from the Old French word solacier meaning to comfo

• Memphis

  Etymology and Meaning The name Memphis originates from the ancient Egyptian word Men n

• fascinate

  Etymology Medieval Latin fascinare to bewitch enchant Latin fascinum evil eye fa

• communicate

  Etymology The word communicate comes from the Latin word communicare which means to