polyseme

A polyseme is a word that has multiple related senses. The phenomenon is known as polysemy, and the different meanings are usually connected by a common core concept or domain. Polysemy arises through processes such as metaphor, metonymy, broadening, or narrowing of meaning, so that new senses extend a familiar idea rather than arise from completely separate origins.

A key distinction in lexicography is between polysemy and homonymy. A polyseme has senses that are semantically related, often through metaphorical or conceptual extension. A homonym, in contrast, comprises senses that are unrelated in meaning and sometimes trace to distinct etymologies. Some cases lie on a continuum, and dictionaries categorize senses based on historical development and semantic relation rather than form alone.

Common examples include the word foot, which can refer to the lower part of the leg; a unit of length defined as the span of a human foot; and the bottom or base of a hill or object. Although these senses cover different domains, they share a basic idea of position, end, or measure anchored in the body’s relation to length and boundary.

In practice, polysemy affects how words are analyzed in linguistic research, dictionary compilation, and natural language processing, where context is required to disambiguate which sense is intended. Understanding polysemes helps explain how a single form can convey multiple related meanings within a language.