homonymous
Americanadjective
Usage
What does homonymous mean? If two words are described as homonymous, it means they are homonyms—words that have different meanings but are pronounced the same or spelled the same or both. Homonymous can also mean having the same name. The word homonym can be used as a synonym for both homophone and homograph. It can also be used to refer to words that are both homophones and homographs. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings, whether they’re spelled the same or not. There, their, and they’re are homophones. But so are bark (the sound a dog makes) and bark (the covering of a tree). Homographs are words that have the same spelling but different meanings, whether they’re pronounced the same or not. Bass (the fish, rhymes with class) and bass (the instrument, rhymes with ace) are homographs. But so are bark (the sound a dog makes) and bark (the covering of a tree). As you can see, the two senses of bark can be considered both homographs and homophones. The word homonym can also be used to refer to such words—meaning they have both the same spelling and the same pronunciation, but different meanings. The related noun homonymy refers to the relationship between words that are homonyms. Example: Many English words are homonymous, which can make things confusing, even for native speakers.
Other Word Forms
- homonymously adverb
Etymology
Origin of homonymous
1615–25; < Latin homōnymus < Greek homṓnymos of the same name, equivalent to hom ( o )- homo- + -ōnymos named, adj. derivative of ónyma name, -onym (for vowel lengthening anonymous ); -ous
Explanation
Fan meaning "an appliance for cooling" and fan meaning "someone who’s enthusiastic about something" are homonymous. They’re pronounced and even spelled the same, but have different meanings and origins. Same spelling isn’t a necessary feature — horse and hoarse are also homonymous. Homonymous words cause some people a lot of confusion in English, as there seem to be so many of them. You can probably come up with a long list right out of your head without even looking online. They’re great for making puns, though! Homonymous is the adjective corresponding to the noun homonym: "a word with the same sound but different meaning." Usually the category is limited to words that also have different origins. The Greek roots to notice here are homo-, meaning "same," and onyma, "name."
Vocabulary lists containing homonymous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ahead of the rafts, the town's homonymous river flickers and glows as locals place 3,000 flaming coconuts into its waters to guide the balsadas to the town square.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2022
Holidays, and the inter-family gatherings they occasion, pose particular hardships to homonymous couples.
From Slate • Aug. 2, 2012
Physical characteristics are an obvious port in the homonymous storm.
From Slate • Aug. 2, 2012
Music for Three Waltzes was written by three homonymous composers.
From Time Magazine Archive
The double tenotomy of the externi performed on January 2nd was first followed by convergent squint with homonymous double images, which were united by a prism of 12° with the base inwards.
From Schweigger on Squint A Monograph by Dr. C. Schweigger by Schweigger, C.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
