homonymous words

Language

2022

We explain what the homonymous words are, examples and phrases that contain them. Also, what are the stop words.

Homonyms like wine (to come) and wine (drink) are pronounced the same.

What are homonymous words?

Homonymous words are known as all those that, having a different origin and different meaning, have the same form, that is, they are written the same and / or are pronounced the same. This type of linguistic relationship between two or more words is called homonymy (from the Greek homoios, "Equal", and onoma, "Name").

Unlike polysemic words, which are simple words with different possible meanings, homonymous words are different words, with different etymologies, that ended up having a similar shape. For this reason they present different entries (lexies) in a dictionary, despite being identical words, while polysemic words have only one.

There are two possible forms of homonymy, which are:

  • Homography. When the two words present an identical way of being written, whether or not they are pronounced in the same way. In this case, they are called homograph words. For example: bench (to sit) and Bank (of money).
  • Homophony When the two words present the same way of being pronounced, that is, a sound identity, whether or not they are written in the same way. In that case, they are called homophone words. For example: vast (immense) and coarse (rough).

We must bear in mind that, in the Spanish language, all homograph words are necessarily homophones. But in other languages ​​this may not be the case.

Examples of homonymous words in Spanish

Some examples of homonymous words in Spanish are:

  • Bank (of money) / Bank (of the square) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Near (next to) / Near (palisade) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Corporal (rope) / Corporal (military) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Sierra (mountains) / Sierra (tool) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Boat (loss of water) / Boat (vessel) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Candle (for lighting) / Candle (for boat) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Nothing (from the verb to swim) / Nothing (nothing) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Wine (liquor) / Wine (from the verb to come) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Copper (the metal) / Copper (from the verb to charge) (homonyms and homographs)
  • Go (from the verb to go) / Berry (fruit) (homonyms and homophones)
  • Cayo (from the feet) / Callo (from the verb to be quiet) (homonyms and homophones)
  • House (home) / Hunting (hunting) (homonyms and homophones)
  • Basto (rough) / Vast (immense) (homonyms and homophones)
  • Deshecho (from the verb undo) / Desecho (from the verb discard) (homonyms and homophones)
  • Cima (summit) / Sima (cavity) (homonyms and homophones)
  • Bello (beautiful) / Vello (body hair) (homonyms and homophones)
  • Cerium (chemical element) / Serious (serious) (homonyms and homophones)

Sentences with homonymous words in Spanish

A chasm is a cavity in the rock, almost the opposite of a peak.

And then some prayers with homonymous words in Spanish:

  • We reached the top of the hill and could see the depth of the chasm that followed.
  • It looks so beautiful, without a single hair on the body!
  • I better shut up, even though they stepped on a key.
  • Some prefer the house, while others the hunt.
  • Corporal Gutierrez leaned over and tied the rope to the dock.
  • That news left Miguel undone, feeling like a waste.
  • He sat down on the bench in the plaza to wait for the bench to be opened.
  • Either the patient is cured, or we call him a cure.
  • A serious chemist is not ignorant of the properties of cerium.

Paronymous words

Paronymous words are those that, although they resemble in their sound, have different written forms and different associated meanings. Their resemblance may be due to a similar etymological origin, or to sheer coincidence, or even to error, and can be distinguished only by a tilde, for example. This relationship is known as paronymy.

Some examples of paronyms are:

  • Maya (the Mesoamerican people) / Malla (red)
  • Bee / Sheep
  • Dozen / Ten
  • Suicide / Subsidy
  • Man / Hunger
  • Dog / Watercress
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