heteronym
English
Etymology
Coined around 1900, either from hetero- (“different”) + -onym (“name”) or from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek ἑτερώνυμος (heterṓnumos), or perhaps both.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈhɛt.əɹ.ə(ʊ).nɪm/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈhɛt.ə.ɹoʊ.nɪm/, /ˈhɛt.ə.ɹə.nɪm/
Audio (US): (file)
Noun
heteronym (plural heteronyms)
- (linguistics) A word having the same spelling as another, but a different pronunciation and meaning.
- Agape, "astonished" or "wide open," is a heteronym of agape, "Christian love."
- (literature) A fictitious character created by an author for the purpose of writing in a different style.
Synonyms
- (linguistics): heterophone, homograph
Translations
word having the same spelling but different pronunciation
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fictitious character writing in a different style
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See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Homonym_Euler_Diagram_Semantics.svg/220px-Homonym_Euler_Diagram_Semantics.svg.png)
Noun (cat) | Sound | Spelling | Meaning | phone/graph |
---|---|---|---|---|
identical | same | same | same | homophone & homograph |
homophone (cat) | same | different | different | homophone & heterograph |
alternative spelling | same | different | same | homophone & heterograph |
homonym | same | same | different | homophone & homograph |
synonym | different | different | same | heterophone & heterograph |
heteronym (cat) | different | same | different | heterophone & homograph |
alternative pronunciation | different | same | same | heterophone & homograph |
distinct | different | different | different | heterophone & heterograph |
- List of English heteronyms defined in Wiktionary
- polyphone (a letter [or combination of letters] that can be pronounced in two or more different ways, such as 長 / 长/长 in Chinese, pronounced [cháng] in the sense of ’long’ and [zhǎng] in the sense of ’to grow’)