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homonym

[hom-uh-nim] Example Sentences Origin

hom·o·nym

[hom-uh-nim]
noun
1.
homophone (def. 1).
2.
a word the same as another in sound and spelling but different in meaning, as chase “to pursue” and chase “to ornament metal.”
3.
(loosely) homograph.
4.
a namesake.
5.
Biology. a name given to a species or genus that has been assigned to a different species or genus and that is therefore rejected.

Origin:
1635–45; < Latin homōnymum < Greek homṓnymon, neuter of homṓnymos homonymous

hom·o·nym·ic, adjective
hom·o·nym·i·ty, noun

homograph, homonym, homophone (see synonym note at the current entry).


1, 2, 3. Homonym, homophone, and homograph designate words that are identical to other words in spelling or pronunciation, or both, while differing from them in meaning and usually in origin. Homophones are words that sound alike, whether or not they are spelled differently. The words pear “fruit,” pare “cut off,” and pair “two of a kind” are homophones that are different in spelling; bear “carry; support” and bear “animal” are homophones that are spelled alike. Homographs are words that are spelled identically but may or may not share a pronunciation. Spruce “tree” and spruce “neat” are homographs, but so are row [roh] “line” and row [rou] “fight” as well as sewer [soo-er] “conduit for waste” and sewer [soh-er] “person who sews.” Homonyms are, in the strictest sense, both homophones and homographs, alike in spelling and pronunciation, as the two forms bear. Homonym, however, is used more frequently than homophone, a technical term, when referring to words with the same pronunciation without regard to spelling. Homonym is also used as a synonym of homograph. Thus, it has taken on a broader scope than either of the other two terms and is often the term of choice in a nontechnical context.

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Homonym is always a great word to know.
So is species. Does it mean:
exemplifying most nearly the essential characteristics of a higher group in natural history, and forming the type
the basic category of biological classification, composed of individuals that resemble one another are able to breed with one another
Example Sentences
  • Be careful to use the rite homonym.
Collins
World English Dictionary
homonym (ˈhɒmənɪm)
 
n
1.  homograph Compare homophone one of a group of words pronounced or spelt in the same way but having different meanings
2.  a person with the same name as another
3.  biology a name for a species or genus that should be unique but has been used for two or more different organisms
 
[C17: from Latin homōnymum, from Greek homōnumon, from homōnumos of the same name; see homo-, -onym]
 
homo'nymic
 
adj
 
ho'monymous
 
adj
 
homo'nymity
 
n
 
ho'monymy
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

homonym
1621 (implied in homonymous), from L. homonymum (Quintilian), from Gk. homonymos, from homos "same" (see same) + onyma, dial. form of onoma "name" (see name).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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