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Most of the pairs listed below are closely related: for example, "absent" as a noun meaning "missing", and as a verb meaning "to make oneself missing". There are also many cases in which homographs are of an entirely separate origin, or whose meanings have diverged to the point that present-day speakers have little historical understanding: for ...
Homonym: words with same sounds and same spellings but with different meanings; Homograph: words with same spellings but with different meanings; Homophone: words with same sounds but with different meanings; Homophonic translation; Mondegreen: a mishearing (usually unintentional) as a homophone or near-homophone that has as a result acquired a ...
A homophone (/ ˈ h ɒ m ə f oʊ n, ˈ h oʊ m ə-/) is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example rose (flower) and rose (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, as in rain , reign , and rein .
If, when spoken, the meanings may be distinguished by different pronunciations, the words are also heteronyms. Words with the same writing and pronunciation (i.e. are both homographs and homophones) are considered homonyms. However, in a broader sense the term "homonym" may be applied to words with the same writing or pronunciation.
Five-and-dime, dime store, a store selling cheap merchandise; a dime a dozen, so abundant as to be worth little (UK: ten a penny); on a dime, in a small space ("turn on a dime", UK: turn on a sixpence) or immediately ("stop on a dime", UK: stop on a sixpence); nickel-and-dime, originally an adjective meaning "involving small amounts of money ...
A more restrictive and technical definition requires that homonyms be simultaneously homographs and homophones [1] —that is, they have identical spelling and pronunciation but different meanings. Examples include the pair stalk (part of a plant) and stalk (follow/harass a person) and the pair left ( past tense of leave ) and left (opposite of ...
A heteronym (also known as a heterophone) is a word that has a different pronunciation and meaning from another word but the same spelling. These are homographs that are not homophones. Thus, lead (/ˈlɛd/ the metal) and lead (/ˈliːd/ a leash) are heteronyms, but mean (/ˈmin/ average) and mean (/ˈmin/ intend) are not, since they are ...
In the tables, the hyphen has two different meanings. A hyphen after the letter indicates that it must be at the beginning of a syllable, e.g., j - in jumper and ajar. A hyphen before the letter indicates that it cannot be at the beginning of a word, e.g., - ck in sick and ticket.