paronym

[ par-uh-nim ]
/ ˈpær ə nɪm /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR paronym ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Grammar.

a paronymous word.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THESE WORDS FROM BROWN GIRL DREAMING!

Visualize yourself passing this quiz on words from Jacqueline Woodson’s exquisite verse novel “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and then take the quiz to prove you can do it! (Because you can.)
Question 1 of 10
What does “barren” mean?
a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides.
Worn down by dullness, tedious repetition.
unproductive; unfruitful
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of paronym

1840–50; <Greek parṓnymon, neuter of parṓnymos formed by a slight change in name, derivative, equivalent to par-par- + -ōnymos, adj. derivative of ónymaname

OTHER WORDS FROM paronym

par·o·nym·ic, adjective

Words nearby paronym

parole, parolee, paromphalocele, paronomasia, paronychia, paronym, paronymous, paroophoron, parophthalmia, paropsia, parorchidium
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to paronym

borrowing, calque, loan translation, neology

British Dictionary definitions for paronym

paronym
/ (ˈpærənɪm) /

noun

linguistics a cognate word

Derived forms of paronym

paronymic or paronymous (pəˈrɒnɪməs), adjectiveparonymously, adverb

Word Origin for paronym

C19: via Late Latin from Greek paronumon, from para- 1 (beside) + onoma a name
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012