Speaking of Homonyms.....

[kmcginn]

I found this forum last week, and I must say I have enjoyed it quite a bit. Grammar has always been one of my pet peeves, and I am enjoying all the discussions! Now for a question.

When I was in school and learning English Grammar and Phonix, I learned about
Synonyms - similar in meaning
Antonyms - opposite in meaning and
Homonyms - sound the same but spelled differently and with different meanings.

Lately, I have heard the term Homophones, but it seems to be the same thing as what I learned as a Homonym.

Is there a difference in the two, and can someone tell me what it is? Or has the name merely changed?

Thanks,

Kris

 

[strongm]

There's a subtle difference in that homonyms share the same spelling and pronunciation. What you appear to have learned as a homonym is actually a homophone.

Er...as far as I remember.

 

[Dimandja]

Yup.

Homonym:
One of two or more words that have the same sound and often the same spelling but differ in meaning, such as bank (embankment) and bank (place where money is kept).

Homophone:
One of two or more words, such as night and knight, that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and sometimes spelling.

 

[CajunCenturion]

The difference is indeed quite subtle.

Homonyms are words that have different meanings, but are either spelled the same, or pronounced the same, but as far as I know, not necessarily both.

Homophones are words that pronounced the same, but have either different meanings or different spellings, or differ in both meaning and spelling.
[tt]
Share Spelling
Homonym: or and Different Meaning
Share Pronounciation

Different Meaning
Homophone: Share Pronounciation and or
Different Spelling
[/tt]
[tt]Color[/tt] and [tt]Colour[/tt] are Homophones (same pronounciation and different spellings) but not Homonyms because they have the same meaning.

[tt]Close[/tt] (near to) and [tt]Close[/tt] (opposite of open) are homonyms (different meanings and same spelling), but are not homophones (pronounced differently).


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[kmcginn]

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[ESquared]

CajunCenturion,

So does that mean that two words which share pronunciation and have different meanings are both homonyms and homophones?

-------------------------------------
A sacrifice is harder when no one knows you've made it.

 

[CajunCenturion]

Yes

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[piofenton]

Basically you are asking are the words homonym and homophones, symonyms or homonyms?