German

Noun

Homonym n ‎(genitive Homonyms, plural Homonyme)

1. (semantics) homonym (word with the same sound and spelling as another but different meaning)

Declension

Derived terms

• Homonymie

Related terms

• homonym

English

Noun

homonym ‎(plural homonyms)

1. (semantics, strict sense) A word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word but has a different meaning.
2. (loosely) A word that sounds or is spelled the same as another word but has a different meaning, technically called a homophone (same sound) or a homograph (same spelling).
3. (taxonomy) A name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another name that belongs to a different taxon.

Usage notes

• Homonyms (in the looser sense) are divided into the two overlapping subcategories homographs and homophones. Examples:
  • die and dye (homophones but not homographs)
  • the parasitic flatworm called a fluke and fluke, part of the tail of a whale (both homophones and homographs and therefore true homonyms in the strict sense)
  • the metal lead and the present tense of the verb lead (homographs but not homophones)

Related terms

• homonymic
• homonymous

Translations

See also

An Euler diagram showing the relationship between these -nyms.

Swedish

Noun

homonym n, c

1. homonym

Declension