German

Noun

Homograph m

1. homograph

English

Noun

homograph ‎(plural homographs)

1. A word that is spelled the same as another word, usually having a different etymology, such as "bear", the animal, and "bear", to support, to tolerate, etc.

Usage notes

Homographs are a kind of homonym in the loose sense of that term, i.e. a word that is either a homophone (same sound) or a homograph (same spelling). (The strict sense of homonym is a word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word.) Specifically, homographs must have the same spelling, though they usually have different meanings and may be pronounced differently.

• The verb bear ‎(“to carry”) and the noun bear ‎(“large omnivorous mammal”) are homographs with the same pronunciation and different etymological origins.
• The verb alternate ‎(“to go back and forth”) and the adjective alternate ‎(“following by turns”) are homographs with different pronunciations but close etymological origins. Such homographs are also heteronyms.
• The verb meet ‎(“to encounter”) and the noun meat ‎(“food”) are not homographs since they have different spellings.

Related terms

• homœograph
• homographic
• homography

Translations

See also

An Euler diagram showing the relationship between these -nyms.

• polyphone