Homonymy

1
Homonymy is the relation between words with identical forms but different meanings,
whereas the world with this meaning are called homonyms. Homonyms stand for a word or a
group of words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but may have different meanings.
This definition is given in linguistically strict sense. By definition, homonyms are
simultaneously homographs (types of words that share the same spelling, regardless of their
pronunciation) and homophones (types of words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of
their spelling). The state of certain word being a homonym is called homonymy. The most
common examples of homonyms are the pair bear (an animal) and bear (to carry) and the
pair left (past tense of leave) and left (opposite of right). Somewhat distinction is sometimes
made between "true" homonyms, which are unrelated in origin, such as skate (glide on ice)
and skate (the fish), and polysemous homonyms, or polysemes, which have a shared origin, such
as mouth (of a river) and mouth (of an animal).
As Tom McArthur noted, There is na extensive grey area between the concepts
of polysemy and homonymy
1

Linguist Deborah Tannen has used the term pragmatic homonymy (or ambiguity) to describe
the phenomenon by which two speakers "use the same linguistic devices to achieve different
ends."
2

The term "homonym" may be used, although somewhat confusingly, to refer to words that are
either homographs or homophones in non-technical contexts. In this looser sense, the word
bow (verb, to bow) and bow (noun, a weapon) are considered homonyms, as are the
words read (peruse) and reed (waterside plant).

Etymology
The word homonym originates from the Greek (homonumos), meaning "having the
same name". The word itself is the conjunction of (homos), "common, same" and
(onoma) meaning "name". Thus, it refers to two or more distinct concepts sharing the "same
name" or signifier.

1
Tom McArthur, Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language, 2005
2
Conversational Style, Deborah Tannen, Oxford University press, 2005
Homonymy

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Related terms

Term Meaning Spelling Pronunciation
Homonym Different Same Same
Homograph Different Same Same or different
Homophone Different Same or different Same
Heteronym Different Same Different
Heterograph Different Different Same
Polyseme Different but related Same Same or different
Capitonym
Different when
capitalized
Same except for
capitalization
Same or different
Synonym Same Different Different




Homonymy

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Several similar linguistic concepts are related to homonymy, such as:
Homographs (literally "same writing"), which are usually defined as words that share
the same spelling, regardless of how they are pronounced. If they are pronounced the same
then they are also homophones (and homonyms) for example, bark (the sound of a dog)
and bark (the skin of a tree). If they are pronounced differently then they are
also heteronyms for example, bow (the front of a ship) and bow (a ranged weapon).
Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same
pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled. If they are spelled the same then they are
also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are
also heterographs (literally "different writing"). Homographic examples
include rose (flower) and rose (past tense of rise). Heterographic examples
include to, too, two, and there, their, theyre.
Heteronyms (literally "different name") are the subset of homographs (words that share
the same spelling) that have different pronunciations (and meanings). Such words
include desert (to abandon) and desert (arid region); tear (to rip) and tear (a drop of moisture
formed in the eye); row (to argue or an argument) and row (as in to row a boat or a row of
seats - a pair of homophones). Heteronyms are also sometimes called heterophones (literally
"different sound").
Polysemes are words with the same spelling and distinct but related meanings. The
distinction between polysemy and homonymy is often subtle and subjective, and not all
sources consider polysemous words to be homonyms. Words such a smouth, meaning either
the orifice on one's face, or the opening of a cave or river, 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
include polish (to make shiny) and Polish (from Poland); march (organized, uniformed,
Homonymy

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steady and rhythmic walking forward) and March (the third month of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar). However, both polish and march at the beginning of sentences still
need to be capitalized.
A further example of a homonym, which is both a homophone and a homograph,
is fluke. Fluke can mean:

A fish, and a flatworm.
- The end parts of an anchor.
- The fins on a whale's tail.
- A stroke of luck.
These meanings represent at least three etymologically separate lexemes, but share the one
form, fluke.
Similarly, a river bank, a savings bank, a bank of switches, and a bank shot in pool share a
common spelling and pronunciation, but differ in meaning.
The words bow and bough 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, and bough, 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 of bow, Bow and bough are
homonyms, homographs, homophones, heteronyms, heterographs, capitonyms and are
polysemous.
- bow a long wooden stick with horse hair that is used to play certain string
instruments such as the violin
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- 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)
- Bow a district in London
- bow -- a weapon to shoot projectiles with (e.g. a bow and arrow)
- bough a branch on a tree. (e.g. "when the bough breaks...")

Quotations and observations:
"Homonyms are illustrated from the various meanings of the word bear (= animal, carry)
orear (of body, of corn). In these examples, the identity covers both the spoken and written
forms, but it is possible to have partial homonymy (or heteronymy), where the identity is
within a single medium, as in homophony and homography. When there is ambiguity
between homonyms (whether non-deliberate or contrived, as in riddles and puns),
ahomonymic clash or conflict is said to have occurred."
(David Crystal. A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 6th ed. Blackwell, 2008)

"Examples (of homonymy) are peer ('person belonging to the same group in age and status')
and peer ('look searchingly'), or peep ('making a feeble shrill sound') and peep ('look
cautiously')."
(Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson, An Introduction to English Grammar, 3rd ed.
Pearson, 2009)






Homonymy

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Homonymy and Polysemy

"Homonymy and polysemy both involve one lexical form that is associated with multiple
senses and as such both are possible sources of lexical ambiguity. But while homonyms are
distinct lexemes that happen to share the same form, in polysemy a single lexeme is
associated with multiple senses. The distinction between homonymy and polysemy is usually
made on the basis of the relatedness of the senses: polysemy involves related senses, whereas
the senses associated with homonymous lexemes are not related."
(M. Lynne Murphy and Anu Koskela, Key Terms in Semantics, Continuum 2010)


"Linguists have long distinguished between polysemy and homonymy (e.g., Lyons 1977: 22,
235). Usually, an account like the following is given. Homonymy obtains when two words
accidentally have the same form, such as bank 'land bordering on a river' and bank 'financial
institution.' Polysemy obtains where one word has several similar meanings, such
as may indicating 'permission' (e.g, May I go now?) and may indicating possibility (e.g., It
may never happen). Since it is not easy to say when two meanings are totally different or
unrelated (as in homonymy) or when they are just a little different and related (as in
polysemy), it has been customary to adduce additional, more easily decidable criteria.

"The trouble is that, although helpful, these criteria are not totally compatible and do not go
all the way. There are cases where we may think that the meanings are clearly distinct and that
we therefore have homonymy, but which cannot be distinguished by the given linguistic
formal criteria, e.g., charm may denote 'a kind of interpersonal attraction' and may also be
used in physics denoting 'a kind of physical energy.' Not even the word bank, usually given in
most textbooks as the archetypical example of homonymy, is clear-cut. Both the 'financial
bank' and the 'river bank' meanings derive by a process of metonymy and metaphor,
respectively from Old French banc 'bench.' Since bank in its two meanings belongs to the
same part of speech and is not associated with two inflectional paradigms, the meanings
of bank are not a case of homonymy by any of the above criteria. . . . Traditional linguistic
criteria for distinguishing homonymy from polysemy, although no doubt helpful, in the end
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turn out to be insufficient."
(Jens Allwood, "Meaning Potentials and Context: Some Consequences for the Analysis of
Variation in Meaning." Cognitive Approaches to Lexical Semantics, ed. by Hubert Cuyckens,
Ren Dirven, and John R. Taylor. Walter de Gruyter, 2003)


"Dictionaries recognize the distinction between polysemy and homonymy by making a
polysemous item a single dictionary entry and making homophonous lexemes two or more
separate entries. Thus head is one entry and bank is entered twice. Producers of dictionaries
often make a decision in this regard on the basis of etymology, which is not necessarily
relevant, and in fact separate entries are necessary in some instances when two lexemes have a
common origin. The form pupil, for instance, has two different senses, 'part of the eye' and
'school child.' Historically these have a common origin but at present they are semantically
unrelated. Similarly, flower and flour were originally 'the same word,' and so were the
verbs to poach (a way of cooking in water) and to poach 'to hunt animals on another person's
land', but the meanings are now far apart and all dictionaries treat them as homonyms, with
separate listing. The distinction between homonymy and polysemy is not an easy one to make.
Two lexemes are either identical in form or not, but relatedness of meaning is not a matter of
yes or no; it is a matter of more or less."
(Charles W. Kreidler, Introducing English Semantics. Routledge, 1998)











Homonymy

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Aristotle on Homonymy

"Those things are called homonymous of which the name alone is common, but the account
of being corresponding to the name is different. . . . Those things are called synonymous of
which the name is common, and the account of being corresponding to the name is the same."
(Aristotle, Categories)


"The sweep of Aristotle's application of homonymy is in some ways astonishing. He appeals
to homonymy in virtually every area of his philosophy. Along with being and goodness,
Aristotle also accepts (or at times accepts) the homonymy or multivocity of: life, oneness,
cause, source or principle, nature, necessity, substance, the body, friendship, part, whole,
priority, posteriority, genus, species, the state, justice, and many others. Indeed, he dedicates
an entire book of the Metaphysics to a recording and partial sorting of the many ways core
philosophical notions are said to be. His preoccupation with homonymy influences his
approach to almost every subject of inquiry he considers, and it clearly structures the
philosophical methodology that he employs both when criticizing others and when advancing
his own positive theories."
(Christopher Shields, Order in Multiplicity: Homonymy in the Philosophy of Aristotle.
Oxford University Press, 1999)