homonym meaning: definition, etymology

homonym

noun

UK /ˈhɒmənɪm/ · US /ˈhɑmənɪm/

Etymology From Latin homōnymum, from Ancient Greek ὁμώνυμον (homṓnumon), nominalized from the neuter of ὁμώνῠμος (homṓnŭmos, “homonymous”). By surface analysis, hom- + -onym.

› A word that sounds or is spelled the same as…

Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences, Semantics Broadly A word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word.

Biology, Natural sciences, Taxonomy Broadly A name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another name that belongs to a different taxon.

Derived terms: hemihomonym, homonymic, homonymophobia, homonymous, homonymphobia, homonymy
Related terms: identical, same, homophone & homograph, homophone, different, homophone & heterograph, alternative spelling, synonym, heterophone & heterograph, heteronym, heterophone & homograph, alternative pronunciation, distinct