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180
A CLASSiFICATION OF WORDS
homomor:
homonym
homophon
paronym
polyonym
synonym
MAXEY BROOKE
Sweeny, Texas
One of the pleasures of the logologist is investigating the relations
between pairs of words. Words can be characterized in four ways: spel­
ling (or appearance), sound (or pronunciation) , meaning (or definition) ,
and origin (or derivation). Two words can be either identical or differ­
ent with respect to each of these properties; thus, there are 16 different
ways in which word-pairs can be classified, ranging from identical in
all four respects to different in all four respects. The 14 intermediate
cases, those in which a pair of words ·are identical in some respects
but differ in others, are the ones of most interest to the logologist.
This work was inspired by Dave Silverman, who, in the May 1974
Kickshaws, introduced a slightly simpler 8- way classification, ignoring
origin but distinguishing spelling, sound and meaning. He suggested
homograph, homophone and synonym to describe word-pairs identical
in exactly one of these characteristics, and gave examples (but not defi­
nite names) of word-pairs identical in two characteristics.
For brevity, I introduce the following notation. Let Sp stand for spel­
ling, So for sound, Me, for meaning and Or for origin; also, let paren­
theses enclosing any of these abbreviations denote that the two words are
unlike in that respect. For example, word- pair s identical in spelling
and sound but different in meaning and origin are denoted by the symbol­
ism SpSo( Me) (Or) .
Over the years a considerable number of words have been introduced
to distinguish words according to these properties. Unfortunately, the
definitions do not always specify the presence or absence of each proper­
ty; for example, two words are synonyms if they have the same meaning,
regardless of whether or not they have the same or different sounds,
spellings or origins. Worse, dictionaries often give different definitions
for the same word. I summarize below the definitions given several
common and not- so- common words by the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) , The Merriam- Webster Unabridged (W3, W2), and the Funk &
Wagnalls Unabridged ( FW) , as well as by a dictionary devoted to lin­
guistic s, Mario Pei and Frank Gaynor I s Dictionary of Linguistic s
(Crown Publishers, 1954) ( PG) .
conjugate
doublet
heteronym
homograph
OrMe OED- W3- FW
Or OED- W3; (O)? FW; Or( Me) PG
Sp( So) (Me) OED- W2- FW - PG
Sp( Or) (Me) OED- FV1; Sp( Or), Sp( Me), Sp( So)
W3;
It is clear fre
ought to be a'
nym is some'
of homonym 1
He re is ]
So( Sp) ( Me) (
Gaynor, t
have appe
1973) and
ust 1969)
homophol
the same
Sp ( So) ( Me) (
tar). Ag
graph; h~
ing With
Me( So} ( Sp) (
that the v
regardlel
I propose
Or( So) ( Sp) ( ]
this prec
the word
SoSp( Me) (Or
and SQU)
Dave Sih
shaws, tl
tide in t]
a word a]
SoMe(Sp) (01
( German
and prop'
SoOr ( Sp) ( ME
kanna, IT
sense of
sense of
a quasi-l
homopho:
181
homomorph
homonym
homophone
paronyzn
polyonym
synonym
Ie relations
llr ways: spel­
or definition) ,
lcal or differ­
'e 16 diffe rent
~dentical in
.ntermediate
: respects
5"ologist.
: May 1974
ion, ignoring
suggested
s identical
(but not defi­
stand for spel­
), let par en­
;wo words are
in spelling
'( the symbol-
en introduced
lnately, the
: each proper­
:ame meaning,
It sounds,
mt definitions
n several
lictionary
the Funk &
ted to lin­
llistics
Sp( So)
W3;
Sp( Or) (So) (Me) PG
= homophone W2 - PG
So( Me) OED; SpSo( Me) , = homophone, = homograph
W3; So(Me), Sp(So) (Or), So(Sp) (Or) FW;
SpSo( Me) (Or) PG
So ( Me) ( 0 r) • So ( 0 r) 0 ED; So ( Me) , So ( 0 r) , So ( Sp)
W3; = homonym FW; So( Sp) ( Or) (Me) PG
or OED- FW; So( Sp) (Me). = conjugate FW; Or( Me) PG
= synonym W2- OED
Me OED- W3- FW-PG
It is clear from this that homonym is a hopelessly confused term which
ought to be avoided in any systematic classification. Although hetero­
nyzn is somewhat clearer, it is so frequently regarded as the opposite
of homonym that it. too. should be eschewed.
He re is my proposed nomenclature for classifying pairs of words:
So( Sp) (Me) (Or) example, FLOCKS and PHLOX. Following Pei and
Gaynor. this should be called a homophone. Various generalizations
have appeared in Word Ways. such as queer reed/queried (February
1973) and new dandy canary's skin/nude Andy can air his skin (Aug­
ust 1969). On the other hand, the August 1969 issue suggests that
homophones can refer to different groups of letters in words having
the same sound (as uff-uph).
Sp( So) ( Me) (Or) example. TARRY (to wait) and T ARR Y (covered with
tar). Again following Pei and Gaynor, this should be called a homo­
graph; heteronym is a less-acceptable synonym. In his book Play­
in, With Words, Joseph Shipley calls these doubletones.
Me( So ( Sp) ( Or) example, PORKE R and PIG. All references agree
that the word synonym describes a word- pair identical in meaning,
regardless of any other characteristic. Since this is too general,
I propose the following modification: definitive synonym.
Or( So) (Sp) (Me) example. GUARD and WARD.
No dictionary defines
this precise combination of characteristic s; I suggest borrowing
the word doublet.
SoSp( Me) (Or) example. SQUASH (a vegetable, from the Indian asqnash)
and SQUASH (a game, from the French esquachier).
Described by
Dave Silverman as words with two origins in the May 1969 Kick­
shaws, these can be christened double origin words. Drury' s ar­
ticle in the August 1969 Word Ways calls these words homographs,
a word already used above.
SoMe( Sp) (Or) example. COLE (Anglo-Saxon for cabbage) and KOHL
(German for cabbage). I can find no term for this classification,
and propose synonymic homophone.
So Or( Sp) (Me) example, CANON and CANNON, both from the Greek
kanna. meaning II reed"; canon gets its meaning from reed in the
sense of a rod, while cannon gets its meaning from reed in the
sense of a hollow tube. Although this classification has been termed
a quasi- homograph in the August 1969 Word Ways. I believe that
homophonic doublet is a clearer description.
182
SpMe( So) (Or) example, QUAY (pronounced 1l kee ll , from the French)
and QUAY (pronounced 11 cay", from the Spanish). I can find no
term for this clas sification, and propose synonymic homographs.
spar( So) (Me) example, PRESENT (verb) and PRESENT (noun). I
find no term for this classification, and propose homographic
doublets.
MeOr(So) (Sp) example, KENTUM (Latin) and SATEM (Sanskrit),
both meaning II one hundred". I find no term for this classification,
and propose synonymic doublets.
SoSpMe( Or) example, YANKEE (claimed by Thomas Anbury in his 1789
work, Travels, to corne from the Cherokee eankke, or II coward '1 )
and YANKEE (clai med by H. L. Mencken in his 1937 book) The Amer­
ican Langua~e, to corne from the Dutch Janke, the diminutive of
"jan"). T ese are words that have conflicting derivations; the
classic example is the word OK, discussed by Ralph Beaman in the
May 1975 Word Ways. I propose the name derivation variants.
SoSpOr( Me) example, CONDUCT (to lead) and CONDUCT (behavior) .
Although this classification has been termed a pseudo-homograph
in the August 1969 Word Ways, I believe that meaning variant is a
clearer description.
SoMeOr( Sp) example, CHECK and CHEQUE. These are merely
spelling variants.
SpMeOr( So) example, CA RlBBEAN (accented on the third syllable) and
CA RI~BEAN (accented on the second syllable). These are merely
pronunciation variants.
Thus endeth my essay.
suggestions and additions.
I am indebted to Dmitri Borgmann for various
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