homograph

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Usage notes 1.3.2 Related terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.4 See also

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Etymology

From homo- < Ancient Greek ὁμός (“‘same’”) + -graph < Ancient Greek γράφος (“‘that which is written’”)

[edit] Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈhɒməgrɑːf/, /ˈhəʊməgræf/
• (US) IPA: /ˈhɑːməgræf/, /ˈhoʊməgræf/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file},  Audio (US)^{help, file}

[edit] Noun

homograph (plural homographs)

1. A word that is spelled the same as another but has a different meaning and usually a different etymology.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Related terms

• homœograph
• homographic
• homography

[edit] Translations

[edit] See also

Different Meanings

Nym	Sound	Spelling	Category
homonym	same	same
heteronym	different	same	(cat)
homograph	not specified	same
homophone	same	different	(cat)
heterophone	different	different

• polyphone