homonym

A homonym is a word that shares its form with another word but has a different meaning. The shared form can be in spelling, pronunciation, or both. In many discussions, homophones (sound-alikes) and homographs (spelled-alikes) are treated as subtypes of homonyms. Some sources, however, reserve the term for words that coincide in form regardless of sound or spelling, using the narrower terms to describe the specific cases.

Etymology and usage: The word derives from the Greek homo- meaning same and onoma meaning name. It entered English through scholarly usage in the early modern period and has since become a general label for form-meaning relationships in the lexicon.

Examples and distinctions: Homophones are words that sound alike but may differ in spelling and meaning, such as night and knight or two, to, and too. Homographs are words that share spelling and may differ in pronunciation and meaning, such as lead (to guide) and lead (the metal); bass (low voice) and bass (a type of fish). Heteronyms are a subset of homographs that are also pronounced differently, as in read (present tense) versus read (past tense).

Usage and implications: Homonymy can create ambiguity in written text, and readers rely on context to disambiguate meaning. Homonymy is also a common source of wordplay, puns, and linguistic humor. In lexicography and natural language processing, recognizing and resolving homonymy is important for accurate interpretation and disambiguation of sense.