: having multiple meanings . Other Words from polysemous Example Sentences Learn More About polysemous.
What is polysemy and examples?
When a symbol, word, or phrase means many different things, that’s called polysemy. The verb “get” is a good example of polysemy — it can mean “procure,” “become,” or “understand.” ... Generally, polysemy is distinguished from simple homonyms (where words sound alike but have different meanings) by etymology.
Is polysemous a word?
When a word or phrase has several meanings, you can describe that word as polysemous. One word that’s famously polysemous is “bank .” ... Its complementary buddy is monosemous, which describes words that have only one meaning. The Greek root of polysemous is polysemos, “of many senses.”
Which one is an example of polysemous words?
One example of polysemy is the word ‘sound’ . This word has a very large number of meanings. It has 19 noun meanings, 12 adjective meanings, 12 verb meanings, 4 meanings in verb phrases, and 2 adverb meanings. A word with an even greater number of meanings is another example, ‘set’.
How many words are polysemous?
About 40% of English words are polysemous. This means that they have more than one meaning. Some words, such as run or set have more than thirty different meanings. Polysemous words can cause difficulty in contexts where the meaning is other than the primary* meaning of the word.
What is it called when something has two meanings?
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially awkward, sexually suggestive, or offensive to state directly.
When a sentence has two meanings?
A double entendre is a phrase or figure of speech that could have two meanings or that could be understood in two different ways.
Can a person be polysemous?
If the two senses of the same word do not seem to fit, yet seem related , then it is likely that they are polysemous. This test again depends on speakers’ judgments about relatedness, which means that it is not infallible, but merely a helpful conceptual aid.
What is it called when the same word has different meanings?
Homophones are words that sound the same but are different in meaning or spelling. Homographs are spelled the same, but differ in meaning or pronunciation. Homonyms can be either or even both. ... Or the fact that there is a single word which describes these two very different types of words.
What are Polysemantic words?
Definitions of polysemantic word. a word having more than one meaning . synonyms: polysemant, polysemous word. type of: word. a unit of language that native speakers can identify.
Why do English words have so many meanings?
That’s because the other important element of language is context . ... The more of these words included in a language, the faster, and more efficiently, people could understand one another — as long as they were also good at parsing out which of the words’ different meanings were appropriate.
What are the 5 examples of synonyms?
- Bad: awful, terrible, horrible.
- Good: fine, excellent, great.
- Hot: burning, fiery, boiling.
- Cold: chilly, freezing, frosty.
- Easy: Simple, effortless, straightforward.
- Hard: difficult, challenging, tough.
- Big: large, huge, giant.
- Small: tiny, little, mini.
Can a term be more than one word?
A term can be more than one word . A phrase is a group of words that commonly used together to convey meaning.
What are homonyms in English?
Homonyms are words that have different meanings but are pronounced the same or spelled the same . The word homonym can be used as a synonym for both homophone and homograph.
What Entendre means?
to hear . entendre un bruit to hear a noise.
