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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 ...
For the second portion of the list, see List of words having different meanings in American and British English: M–Z. Asterisked (*) meanings, though found chiefly in the specified region, also have some currency in the other region; other definitions may be recognised by the other as Briticisms or Americanisms respectively. Additional usage ...
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 ...
List of English words of Czech origin; List of English words of Dravidian origin (Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu) List of English words of Dutch origin. List of English words of Afrikaans origin; List of South African slang words; List of place names of Dutch origin; Australian places with Dutch names; List of English words of Etruscan ...
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".
Similarly, a river bank, a savings bank, a bank of switches, and a bank shot in the game of pool share a common spelling and pronunciation, but differ in meaning. The words bow and bough are examples where there are two meanings associated with a single pronunciation and spelling (the weapon and the knot); two meanings with two different ...
Many of these words have the same origin, and similar meanings, and are essentially the same word. True heteronyms require the two words to be completely unrelated, which is a rare occurrence. For a longer list, see wikt:Category:English heteronyms.
For the first portion of the list, see List of words having different meanings in American and British English (A–L). Asterisked (*) meanings, though found chiefly in the specified region, also have some currency in the other dialect; other definitions may be recognised by the other as Briticisms or Americanisms respectively. Additional usage ...