homonym
homonym Lexical Profile
homonym Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Each of two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation (or both) but different meanings and origins.
"The English word 'bat' is a classic homonym, referring both to a nocturnal flying mammal and a wooden club used in sports."
A person or thing having the same name as another; a namesake.
"The ancient historian carefully distinguished the general from his younger homonym who ruled a century later."
In biological taxonomy, a scientific name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name belonging to a different taxon.
"Under the rules of zoological nomenclature, the later-published genus name was rejected as a junior homonym."
Word Nuance & Usage
In strict linguistics, a 'homonym' shares both spelling and pronunciation (e.g., 'bark' of a tree and 'bark' of a dog), whereas 'homophones' share only pronunciation ('to', 'two', 'too') and 'homographs' share only spelling ('lead' the metal and 'lead' a group). In everyday usage, however, 'homonym' is frequently used as an umbrella term for either.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 17th century via Latin 'homonymum' from Ancient Greek 'homōnymon', a compound of 'homos' (same) and 'onyma' (name).