LEXICAL SYSTEMS.

HOMONYMS. SYNONYMS.
ANTONYMS.
LECTURE 6
 OUTLINE

1. Definition of homonyms. Classification of

homonyms.
2. Sources of homonymy.
3. Definition of synonyms. Classification of synonyms.
4. Sources of synonymy.
5. Antonyms and their classification.
 I. DEFINITION OF HOMONYMS.

Homonyms are words identical in sound and spelling

or at least in one of these aspects, but different in their
meaning and distribution.

The term is derived from Greek (homos – the same,

onoma – name, i.e. the same name combined with
the difference of meaning.
 I. DEFINITION OF HOMONYMS.

Match
1) (US usually game) a sports competition or event in which
two people or teams compete against each other:
a tennis match // a football/cricket match
2) a short, thin stick made of wood or cardboard and
covered with a special chemical at one end that burns
when rubbed firmly against a rough surface:
a box of matches
You should always strike a match away from you.
3) a person or thing that is equal to another person or thing
in strength, speed, or quality (be no match for sth/sb)
Gibson ran well but was no match for the young Italian.
 I. DEFINITION OF HOMONYMS.

Tank:
1) a container that holds liquid or gas:
a water tank // a fuel/petrol tank;
2) a large military fighting vehicle designed to protect
those inside it from attack, driven by wheels that turn
inside moving metal belts.
He was killed when his tank ran over a mine.
 I. DEFINITION OF HOMONYMS

Homonyms exist in many languages but in English this

language phenomenon is especially frequent, mostly
in monosyllabic words (nearly 90 % of homonyms).
 CLASSIFICATION OF HOMONYMS.

Homonyms may be divided into:

1. homonyms proper (identical in both sound and
spelling), e.g. bark, match, spring, band;
2. homophones (identical in sound but different in
spelling), e.g. sweet-suite, right-write-rite, air-heir,
hare-hair, tea – T (tee), bare-bear (n/v);
3. homographs (the same in spelling but different in
sound), e.g. lead (metal)-lead (v), read (inf) – read
(PP), wind (n) – wind (v).
 CLASSIFICATION OF HOMONYMS

Another classification is based on the part of speech

homonyms belong to.

1) If both homonyms belong to the same part of

speech, they are lexical,
e.g. to read – read (but a good read!),
seal (animal vs stamp, but to seal!),
bat (sport) – bat (living creature).
 CLASSIFICATION OF HOMONYMS

2) If homonyms belong to different parts of speech,

they are called lexico-grammatical,
e.g. know-no, right – right, eye – I, sea-see.

3) If homonyms are different forms of the same word,

they are called grammatical,
e.g. girls-girl’s, worked (Past Simple form) – worked
(Past Participle)
 CLASSIFICATION OF HOMONYMS

The third classification is based on the similarity of the

paradigms (grammatical forms each homonym
possesses).

e.g. match/band/transfer/goal etc.

are full homonyms, because all forms of their

paradigms are coincide.
 CLASSIFICATION OF HOMONYMS

Homonyms that coincide in some (not in all members)

of their paradigms are called partial.
e.g. to lie-lying-lied – lied: to lie-lying – lay – lain; rise –
rose – risen – rose (n) – Rose (proper name).

Homoforms coincide in one form only (axe/axes vs

axis/axes, waters (n) – waters (v))
 II. SOURCES OF HOMONYMY

There are several sources of homonymy.

1. Phonetic changes. In the course of the language
development two or more words that were
pronounced differently may develop identical
sound form,
e.g. knight-night,
eye – I (sound convergence)
sea - see,
love (v) – love (n) from OE lufu-lufian
write-right.
 SOURCES OF HOMONYMY

2. Borrowing. A borrowed word may duplicate in form

a native word or another borrowing,
e.g. write (native) – rite (Latin ritus, compare with
ritual),
fair (adj, native) – fair (noun, French),
bank (shore, native) - bank (institution, Italian)
case (an event (L-F)/a suitcase (L-F)/person (later
formed in E.) + a verb)
 SOURCES OF HOMONYMY

3. Wordbuilding:
a) conversion, e.g. mark (n) – mark (v), must – must, grade (n)
– grade (v);
a) shortening, e.g. fan – fan (from fanatic), van – from
vanguard & from caravan or minivan, AD/ad;
a) sound imitation & conversion, e.g. crash – to crash; mew –
mew – mew, bang (full vs abbreviated form (be a nice guy)).
 SOURCES OF HOMONYMY

4. Splitting polysemy, e.g. board / bar / table / capital

/ reader. It is difficult to establish exact criteria by
which disintegration of polysemy could be detected.
The knowledge of etymology and other languages will
help to supply the missing links. The imprecision of the
criterion is recorded in the data of different
dictionaries which often contradict each
other.
 BAR

1a: a straight piece (as of wood or metal) that is

longer than it is wide and has any of various uses (as
for a lever, support, barrier, or fastening)
windows with bars across them / a door secured by
an iron bar
b: a solid piece or block of material that is longer than
it is wide: a bar of gold / a candy bar
c: a usually rigid piece (as of wood or metal) longer
than it is wide that is used as a handle or support esp.:
a handrail used by ballet dancers to maintain
balance while exercising
 BAR

2: something that obstructs or prevents passage,

progress, or action: such as a law:
His poor attitude was a bar to his success.
 BAR
3 law
a(1): the railing in a courtroom that encloses the place about the judge where prisoners are
stationed or where the business of the court is transacted in civil cases
(2): COURT, TRIBUNAL
The younger judge brought a fresh viewpoint to the bar.
(3): a particular system of courts
practices at the New York bar
(4): an authority or tribunal that hands down judgment
will be judged at the bar of public opinion
b(1): the barrier in the English Inns of Court that formerly separated the seats of the benchers or
readers from the body of the hall occupied by the students
(2): the whole body of barristers or lawyers qualified to practice in the courts of any jurisdiction
dreams of being admitted to the bar
(3): the profession of barrister or lawyer
… heighten respect for members of the bar and judiciary …
— W. L. Hoyt
(4) US : the test that a person must pass in order to become eligible to work as a lawyer passed the
bar and went into private practice
the bar exam/examination
 BAR

4: a straight stripe, band, or line much longer than it is wide: such

as a heraldry: one of two or more horizontal stripes on a heraldic
shield
b: a metal or embroidered strip worn on a usually military uniform
especially to indicate rank (as of a company officer) or service
(see SERVICE entry 1 sense 6b)
a second lieutenant's bar
5a: a counter at which food or especially alcoholic beverages
are served
We sat at the bar while we waited for a table.
b: a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks and sometimes
food are served : BARROOM
They went to a bar for drinks.
c: SHOP
a coffee bar
 BAR

6 music
a: a vertical line across the musical staff before the initial
measure accent
b: measure
Sing the first two bars.
7 textiles: a lace and embroidery joining covered with
buttonhole stitch for connecting various parts of the pattern in
needlepoint lace and cutwork
8: standard
wants to raise the bar for approving new drugs
9: computers a strip along the edge of a computer window that
contains commonly used options or icons
The horizontal navigation bar across the top and bottom enables
users to move quickly from primary section to primary section
within the site …
 PARONYMS

Paronyms (“near homonyms”) are the words which

are usually derived from a word with the same root,
similar in sound and spelling, but having a different
lexical meaning.
farther/further /// whether/weather///
alternately/alternatively /// economic/economical///
interested/interesting ///
corrupted/corrupt /// adopt/adapt /// foster/fester
 HYPONYMY

Hyponymy (=subordination, superordination) is a

semantic relationship of inclusion. The hierarchical
relationship between the meaning of the general
and individual terms.
Hyponym is a specific term while a
hypernym/hyperonym is more general.

Tree – birch/oak/pine/maple
Animal – fox/dog/tiger/hippo/horse
 III. DEFINITION OF SYNONYMS.
CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS.
Synonymy is one of the most controversial points in
linguistics.
Roughly we may say that when two or more different
words are associated with the same or nearly the
same denotative meaning, the words are synonyms.
 III. DEFINITION OF SYNONYMS.
CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS.

Sometimes the criterion of interchangeability is

applied to the definition of synonyms. Accordingly,
synonyms may be defined as words, which are
interchangeable in at least some contexts without any
considerable changes in their denotative meaning.
 III. DEFINITION OF SYNONYMS.
CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS.
This criterion, however, has been much criticized. If all synonyms
were interchangeable, they would become useless ballast in the
language.
Even those synonyms that seem to be interchangeable and are
called total by V.V.Vinogradov, still differ in their distribution, use,
etc.
cosmonaut vs astronaut.
offer + a noun vs suggest + a gerund.
courgette vs zucchini
egg plant vs aubergine
Scarlet fever vs scarlatina
Fatherland vs matherland
Functional affix vs flection
Thus, the prevailing majority of synonyms are partial.
 III. DEFINITION OF SYNONYMS.
CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS.
Synonyms are united into synonymous rows, or synonymic
sets (about 8000 in English). In each row there is one word,
which presents a kind of centre of the group of synonyms
and conveys the most general idea.
Its semantic structure is usually simple.
This is the dominant synonym characterized by:
1. high frequency of usage;
2. broad combinability;
3. broad general meaning;
4. lack of connotations.
E.g. in look-stare-glare-gaze-peer-peep-glance-glimpse…
the dominant synonym is the word look.
 III. DEFINITION OF SYNONYMS.
CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS.
In famous, celebrated, well-known, notorious,
renowned, illustrious – the dominant synonym is ???
leave – depart – quit – retire – clear out – escape –
retreat = ???
cord – rope – string – cable – line – wire – thread -
twine – strand – filament - ???
To be continued
SYNONYMS VS POLYSEMANTIC WORDS

A polysemantic word may enter synonymic groups

according to the number of its lexical semantic
variants, e.g. the word “fresh” goes into 5 synonymic
sets:
Fresh – original – novel – striking – up-to-date
Fresh – another – different – new
 CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS

Synonyms can be classified as stylistic and ideographic.

Stylistic synonyms differ in their stylistic connotation only:
Father
-parent-daddy-Dad;
Girl –
maid – chick – female baby – baby girl - child
Stomach –
belly – (archaic) abdomen – gut - gaster,
Friend –
fellow (man) – buddy - buddy-buddy, old chap,
Television –
TV – TV set – telly – idiot box
 CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS

Euphemisms are always stylistically coloured (mitigate

the colouring of the prototype)

die –
pass away – go – depart – perish – decease - kick the
bucket.
 CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS

Ideographic synonyms may differ in the following connotations:

• degree or intensity, e.g. to devour – to gobble – to eat – to
bite – to nibble – to gulp – to sip ; fine – pretty – cute –
beautiful – handsome – gorgeous - awesome;
• duration, e.g. to glimpse - to gaze - to; to say – to talk - to utter
- have a (quick) word – communicate – negotiate;
• manner, e.g. to drag – to stroll – to loiter – to pace – to march,
to ascent – to mount – to climb, to whisper – to murmur – to
mumble – to speak – to shout – to cry – to yell – to scream,
etc.;
• cause, e.g. to shiver – to shudder - to startle; to trigger – to
ignite – to start – to fire – to set off;
• emotive connotation, e.g. alone – lonely, few – a few;
• evaluative connotation, e.g. well-known – renowned - famous
– celebrated – notorious – odious – prominent, etc.
 CLASSIFICATION OF SYNONYMS

We can also single out contextual synonyms that are

similar in meaning only under some specific
distributional conditions,
e.g. Go and buy some bread – Go and get some
bread.
I cannot stand it any longer – I cannot bear it any
longer.
The rainfall in April was abnormal. - The rainfall in April
was exceptional/unique.
These words are not synonyms outside the specified
contexts.
 IV. SOURCES OF SYNONYMY.

1) Borrowings from other languages or from dialects

and regional variants, e.g.
ask (native) – question (French) – interrogate (Latin)
teach (native) – guide (French) – instruct (Latin)
end (native) – finish (French) – complete/terminate
(Latin)
Lake - loch (Scottish),
Underground – metro (from French) – Tube (London)
– subway (AmE)
mobile phone – cell phone(AmE) – handy (used by
English speaking Germans);
 IV. SOURCES OF SYNONYMY.

2) Wordbuilding:
conversion, e.g. a read (from to read) – reading, a
go (from to go) – a try, a must (from modal verb
must) – obligation;
shortening, e.g. vocabulary – vocab, representative –
rep, neighbourhood – hood;
3) Euphemisms, e.g. drunk/intoxicated – merry – high
– in high spirits, toilet/WC – restroom – bathroom etc.;
4) Phraseology, e.g. correct/in order – as right as rain;
healthy – as fresh as a daisy; hesitate – sit on the
fence, (know) fully / very well - like the back of my
hand / inside out etc.
 V. ANTONYMS AND THEIR
CLASSIFICATION.
Definition

Antonyms may be defined as two or more words of the

same language belonging to the same part of speech
and to the same semantic field, identical in style and
nearly identical in distribution, associated and often used
together so that their denotative meanings render
contradictory or contrary notions.

NB
Still antonymy is rather relative: small elephants are big
animals. Here small can easily be a way bigger than big.
ANTONYMS. SEMANTIC PERSPECTIVE

Contradictory (complementary antonyms) notions

are mutually opposed and deny each other,
e.g. dead – alive, husband – wife.

They usually forms antonymous pairs, but sometimes

there may be multiple incompatibility:
North – West – East – South
Hearts – diamonds – clubs – spades
Week days/planets/months…
ANTONYMS. SEMANTIC PERSPECTIVE

Contrary notions (proper antonyms) are also mutually

opposed but they are gradable,
e.g. neonate - young - teenage – adult – middle-
aged - old – senior – senile
Hot –
warm – cool – chilly – icy – cold
Poor –
middle class - well-off – rich – wealthy.
 ???

• Beautiful ………………………………………ugly

• White …………………………………………..black

• Tiny …………………………………………….. Giant

 ANTONYMS. MORPHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
Antonyms may be classified according to the way
they are built.

Root, or absolute antonyms feature different roots,

e.g. light – dark, soft - hard, good - bad

Derivational antonyms are created by adding

negative affixes to the same root, e.g. competent-
incompetent, regular-irregular, careful-careless,
understanding-misunderstanding.
 ANTONYMS. MORPHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE

In derivational antonyms morphological motivation is

clear, there is no necessity in contexts containing
both members to prove the existence of derivational
antonyms. The word displeased presupposes the
existence of the word pleased.

In this case, we can identify markedness of such

antonyms: capable (unmarked) – incapable
(marked)
 ANTONYMS. MORPHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
However, these derivational patterns are typical, but
not universal. Morphologically similar formations may
show different semantic relationships.
e.g.
done (completed) is not the antonym to undone
(with no hope for future)
Still (about an ongoing action) is not the antonym
distill (a process of making a liquid stronger or purer)
disappoint (frustrate) is not the antonym to appoint
(assign to a position)
 ANTONYMS. CONTINUED.

The words, which are contrasted in actual speech

and are opposed in certain contexts only, are called
contextual antonyms.
e.g. Some people have much to live on but little to
live for.
On and for are antonyms in this context.

Though most antonyms are lexemes, there are also

phrasal antonyms,
e.g. by accident – on purpose
SYNONYMS/ANTONYMS FREQUENCY

Almost every word can have one or more synonyms.

Comparatively few have antonyms.
It is common to find antonyms among:
• qualitative adjectives, e.g. ancient – new, long – short,
horrible/ terrible/ terrifying – terrific;
• words derived from qualitative adjectives, e.g. happily-
sadly, horror/ terror, happiness-sadness;
• words denoting feelings or states, e.g. victory-failure,
hope-despair, love-hatred, war-peace, silence-noise;
• words denoting direction, e.g. back and forth, to and
from, up and down;
• words denoting position in space and time, e.g.
distant/remote-near/close, above-below, past-present-
future, day-night.
ANTONYMS OF POLYSEMANTIC WORDS

Polysemantic words may have different antonyms when

used in different meanings, e.g.
short – long
(a long / short life),
short - tall
(a short / tall person),
short - civil
(to be short / civil with somebody).
Polysemantic words may have antonyms in some of their
meanings and no antonyms in the others, e.g. criticism
(blame) – praise, criticism (literary critical essay) – (no
antonym).
 CONVERSIVES

Another type of semantic opposition is conversives.

They denote one and the same referent or situation
as viewed from different perspectives (subject-
object), with a reversed order of participants and
their roles,
e.g. buy-sell, give-take, parent-child, pull-push.
Conversive relations are possible within one word,
e.g. to sell: He sells books. This book sells well.
The same pair of words may function as antonyms or
as conversives, e.g.
mothers/fathers/parents vs daughters/children/sone.
 WORD FAMILIES

There is another traditional way of vocabulary

grouping within the lexical system of a language. It is
called a word family.
Such a family includes the words with the same root
morpheme.
e.g.
Construct, construction, deconstruction,
constructional, constructive
Love, loving, lovingly, beloved, lovable, love-in