Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The term antonym (and the related antonymy) is commonly taken to be synonymous with opposite, but antonym also has other more restricted meanings. Graded (or gradable) antonyms are word pairs whose meanings are opposite and which lie on a continuous spectrum (hot, cold).
In linguistics, converses or relational antonyms are pairs of words that refer to a relationship from opposite points of view, such as parent/child or borrow/lend. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The relationship between such words is called a converse relation . [ 2 ]
A thesaurus (pl.: thesauri or thesauruses), sometimes called a synonym dictionary or dictionary of synonyms, is a reference work which arranges words by their meanings (or in simpler terms, a book where one can find different words with similar meanings to other words), [1] [2] sometimes as a hierarchy of broader and narrower terms, sometimes simply as lists of synonyms and antonyms.
Semantics studies meaning in language, which is limited to the meaning of linguistic expressions. It concerns how signs are interpreted and what information they contain. An example is the meaning of words provided in dictionary definitions by giving synonymous expressions or paraphrases, like defining the meaning of the term ram as adult male sheep. [22]
The term derives from the 16th-century idiom "in plain English", meaning "in clear, straightforward language" [2] as well as the Latin planus ("flat"). Another name for the term, layman's terms, is derived from the idiom "in layman's terms" which refers to language phrased simply enough that a layperson, or common person without expertise on the subject, can understand.
It can be synonyms, antonyms, explanations, examples, or familiar word-parts (prefix or suffix). [10] It can be definitions, comparisons, or contrasts. [11] Meaning can also be derived via descriptions of cause and effect or through inference. [12] A 1966 study identified fourteen types of context clues for native speakers. [13]
Reverse word dictionaries are straightforward to construct, by simply sorting based on reversed words. This was labor-intensive and tedious before computers, but is now straightforward. By the same token, reverse dictionaries have become less important since online word lists can be searched dynamically.
Roget's Thesaurus is composed of six primary classes. [5] Each class is composed of multiple divisions and then sections. This may be conceptualized as a tree containing over a thousand branches for individual "meaning clusters" or semantically linked words.