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Polysemy (/ p ə ˈ l ɪ s ɪ m i / or / ˈ p ɒ l ɪ ˌ s iː m i /; [1] [2] from Ancient Greek πολύ-(polý-) 'many' and σῆμα (sêma) 'sign') is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a symbol, a morpheme, a word, or a phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. [3] Polysemy is distinct from ...
(v.) to bathe, or give a bath to, example have a bath (US: take a bath meaning bathe) (n.) plumbing fixture for bathing *(US: bathtub) (n.) the act of bathing (n.) a bathroom (esp. a half bath which has a sink and toilet but no shower stall or bathtub, or a 3/4 bath which has a sink, toilet, and shower stall, but no bathtub) bathroom
When the prefix "re-" is added to a monosyllabic word, the word gains currency both as a noun and as a verb. 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 ...
A homograph (from the Greek: ὁμός, homós 'same' and γράφω, gráphō 'write') is a word that shares the same written form as another word but has a different meaning. [1] However, some dictionaries insist that the words must also be pronounced differently, [ 2 ] while the Oxford English Dictionary says that the words should also be of ...
The following are lists of words in the English language that are known as "loanwords" or "borrowings," which are derived from other languages. For Old English-derived words, see List of English words of Old English origin. English words of African origin; List of English words of Afrikaans origin. List of South African English regionalisms
In the English language, there are many polysemic words that have several meanings (including demonymic and ethnonymic uses), and therefore a particular use of any such word depends on the context. For example, the word Thai may be used as a demonym, designating any inhabitant of Thailand , while the same word may also be used as an ethnonym ...
The meaning of the small bloodsucking creature coexisted with the meaning of physician. The former is still used today. lich corpse lich liss relief liss reave: rob reave Today found mostly in "Reaver", meaning robber or highwayman. rime: number rime ruth pity ruth Usage persists to a greater degree in "Ruthless" and to a lesser degree "Ruthful".
False cognates are words in different languages that seem to be cognates because they look similar and may even have similar meanings, but which do not share a common ancestor. False friends do share a common ancestor, but even though they look alike or sound similar, they differ significantly in meaning. Loanwords are words that are adopted ...