homonym
Meaning
A word that is spelled and pronounced the same as another word but has a different meaning.
A word that shares either the same spelling or the same pronunciation as another word, while having a different meaning and origin.
Structure
Usage
The words "bear" (the animal) and "bear" (to carry) are homonyms.
"Bank" (of a river) and "bank" (financial institution) form a classic pair of homonyms.
In the sentence "The bat used a bat," the repeated word is a homonym.
Etymology
The term 'homonym' is a modern English formation built directly from two classical Greek roots. The first element, 'homo-', derives from the Greek homos, meaning "same", a word of Proto-Indo-European origin related to concepts of unity and likeness. The second element, '-nym', originates from the Greek onoma, meaning "name" or "word", tracing back to a widespread PIE root for naming. Combined, the literal construction "same name" perfectly captures the word's core logic: it classifies words that share an identical linguistic "name"—their spoken or written form—despite having distinct identities in meaning and historical origin. This elegant Greek compound entered scholarly English in the 17th century to provide precise terminology for a fundamental phenomenon in linguistics and semantics.
Analysis
homo: From Greek, meaning "same". It functions as a combining form indicating sameness or similarity. nym: From Greek onyma (a variant of onoma), meaning "name". It functions as a combining form indicating a word or name.