homonymy: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowAcademic, Linguistic
Quick answer
What does “homonymy” mean?
The phenomenon where two or more distinct words have identical form (sound and/or spelling).
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
The phenomenon where two or more distinct words have identical form (sound and/or spelling).
In linguistics, a relationship between words that are either homographs (same spelling), homophones (same sound), or both, but have different origins and meanings.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or use. The term is identical in both dialects.
Connotations
Neutral, technical.
Frequency
Equally low frequency in both academic linguistic contexts.
Grammar
How to Use “homonymy” in a Sentence
The homonymy between X and YHomonymy of the word ZTo discuss/resolve homonymyVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “homonymy” in a Sentence
adjective
British English
- The homonymic pair 'bank' was analysed.
- He identified a homonymic clash.
American English
- The homonymic relationship was noted.
- This creates a homonymic situation.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Virtually never used.
Academic
Primary context. Used in linguistics, semantics, and philology.
Everyday
Not used in everyday conversation.
Technical
The standard term in linguistic literature.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “homonymy”
- Misspelling as 'homonimy' or 'homonymity'.
- Using it interchangeably with 'polysemy'.
- Pronouncing it as /ˈhɒm.ə.nɪm.i/ (stress on first syllable).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Homonymy involves two separate words that happen to look/sound the same (e.g., 'bat' flying mammal / 'bat' sports equipment). Polysemy is one word with multiple related meanings (e.g., 'foot' of a person / 'foot' of a mountain).
Yes, English has many homonyms due to its mixed vocabulary from Germanic, Romance, and other sources, and because of sound changes over time. Examples include 'bear' (animal/carry), 'light' (not heavy/illumination), and 'match' (game/flammable stick).
Major dictionaries typically list homonyms as separate headwords or entries with superscript numbers (e.g., 'bank1', 'bank2') to indicate they are distinct lexical items.
Rarely in context, as listeners usually disambiguate based on the surrounding words and situation. However, it can be a source of puns and humour, and may cause issues in language learning or machine translation.
The phenomenon where two or more distinct words have identical form (sound and/or spelling).
Homonymy is usually academic, linguistic in register.
Homonymy: in British English it is pronounced /hɒˈmɒn.ɪ.mi/, and in American English it is pronounced /həˈmɑː.nə.mi/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of HOMO (same) + NYM (name) + Y (state/condition). It's the condition of having the same name/form.
Conceptual Metaphor
LINGUISTIC FORM IS A CONTAINER (for different meanings).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following best describes 'homonymy'?