samheitið
Samheitið is an Icelandic term that translates to "synonymy" in English. It refers to the relationship between words that have the same or very similar meanings. In linguistics, samheitið is a fundamental concept used to understand the nuances of language and how speakers can express the same idea using different vocabulary.
The existence of synonyms allows for greater expressiveness and flexibility in communication. For instance, words like
However, perfect synonyms are rare. Often, words that appear to be synonyms have slightly different shades of