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180

A CLASSiFICATION OF WORDS

homomor:
homonym

homophon
paronym
polyonym
synonym

MAXEY BROOKE
Sweeny, Texas
One of the pleasures of the logologist is investigating the relations
between pairs of words. Words can be characterized in four ways: spel
ling (or appearance), sound (or pronunciation) , meaning (or definition) ,
and origin (or derivation). Two words can be either identical or differ
ent with respect to each of these properties; thus, there are 16 different
ways in which word-pairs can be classified, ranging from identical in
all four respects to different in all four respects. The 14 intermediate
cases, those in which a pair of words are identical in some respects
but differ in others, are the ones of most interest to the logologist.
This work was inspired by Dave Silverman, who, in the May 1974
Kickshaws, introduced a slightly simpler 8- way classification, ignoring
origin but distinguishing spelling, sound and meaning. He suggested
homograph, homophone and synonym to describe word-pairs identical
in exactly one of these characteristics, and gave examples (but not defi
nite names) of word-pairs identical in two characteristics.
For brevity, I introduce the following notation. Let Sp stand for spel
ling, So for sound, Me, for meaning and Or for origin; also, let paren
theses enclosing any of these abbreviations denote that the two words are
unlike in that respect. For example, word- pair s identical in spelling
and sound but different in meaning and origin are denoted by the symbol
ism SpSo( Me) (Or) .
Over the years a considerable number of words have been introduced
to distinguish words according to these properties. Unfortunately, the
definitions do not always specify the presence or absence of each proper
ty; for example, two words are synonyms if they have the same meaning,
regardless of whether or not they have the same or different sounds,
spellings or origins. Worse, dictionaries often give different definitions
for the same word. I summarize below the definitions given several
common and not- so- common words by the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) , The Merriam- Webster Unabridged (W3, W2), and the Funk &
Wagnalls Unabridged ( FW) , as well as by a dictionary devoted to lin
guistic s, Mario Pei and Frank Gaynor I s Dictionary of Linguistic s
(Crown Publishers, 1954) ( PG) .
conjugate
doublet
heteronym
homograph

OrMe OED- W3- FW


Or OED- W3; (O)? FW; Or( Me) PG
Sp( So) (Me) OED- W2- FW - PG
Sp( Or) (Me) OED- FV1; Sp( Or), Sp( Me), Sp( So)

W3;

It is clear fre
ought to be a'
nym is some'
of homonym 1

He re is ]

So( Sp) ( Me) (


Gaynor, t
have appe
1973) and
ust 1969)
homophol
the same
Sp ( So) ( Me) (
tar). Ag
graph; h~
ing With
Me( So} ( Sp) (
that the v
regardlel
I propose
Or( So) ( Sp) ( ]
this prec
the word

SoSp( Me) (Or


and SQU)
Dave Sih
shaws, tl
tide in t]
a word a]
SoMe(Sp) (01
( German
and prop'
SoOr ( Sp) ( ME
kanna, IT
sense of
sense of
a quasi-l
homopho:

181

homomorph
homonym

homophone
paronyzn
polyonym
synonym

Ie relations
llr ways: spel
or definition) ,
lcal or differ
'e 16 diffe rent
~dentical in
.ntermediate
: respects
5"ologist.

: May 1974
ion, ignoring
suggested
s identical
(but not defi

stand for spel


), let par en
;wo words are
in spelling
'( the symbol-

en introduced
lnately, the
: each proper
:ame meaning,
It sounds,
mt definitions
n several
lictionary
the Funk &
ted to lin
llistics

Sp( So)

W3;

Sp( Or) (So) (Me) PG


= homophone W2 - PG
So( Me) OED; SpSo( Me) , = homophone, = homograph
W3; So(Me), Sp(So) (Or), So(Sp) (Or) FW;
SpSo( Me) (Or) PG
So ( Me) ( 0 r) So ( 0 r) 0 ED; So ( Me) , So ( 0 r) , So ( Sp)
W3; = homonym FW; So( Sp) ( Or) (Me) PG
or OED- FW; So( Sp) (Me). = conjugate FW; Or( Me) PG
= synonym W2- OED
Me OED- W3- FW-PG

It is clear from this that homonym is a hopelessly confused term which


ought to be avoided in any systematic classification. Although hetero
nyzn is somewhat clearer, it is so frequently regarded as the opposite
of homonym that it. too. should be eschewed.

He re is my proposed nomenclature for classifying pairs of words:


So( Sp) (Me) (Or) example, FLOCKS and PHLOX. Following Pei and
Gaynor. this should be called a homophone. Various generalizations
have appeared in Word Ways. such as queer reed/queried (February
1973) and new dandy canary's skin/nude Andy can air his skin (Aug
ust 1969). On the other hand, the August 1969 issue suggests that
homophones can refer to different groups of letters in words having
the same sound (as uff-uph).
Sp( So) ( Me) (Or) example. TARRY (to wait) and T ARR Y (covered with
tar). Again following Pei and Gaynor, this should be called a homo
graph; heteronym is a less-acceptable synonym. In his book Play
in, With Words, Joseph Shipley calls these doubletones.
Me( So ( Sp) ( Or) example, PORKE R and PIG. All references agree
that the word synonym describes a word- pair identical in meaning,
regardless of any other characteristic. Since this is too general,
I propose the following modification: definitive synonym.
Or( So) (Sp) (Me) example. GUARD and WARD.
No dictionary defines
this precise combination of characteristic s; I suggest borrowing
the word doublet.
SoSp( Me) (Or) example. SQUASH (a vegetable, from the Indian asqnash)
and SQUASH (a game, from the French esquachier).
Described by
Dave Silverman as words with two origins in the May 1969 Kick
shaws, these can be christened double origin words. Drury' s ar
ticle in the August 1969 Word Ways calls these words homographs,
a word already used above.
SoMe( Sp) (Or) example. COLE (Anglo-Saxon for cabbage) and KOHL
(German for cabbage). I can find no term for this classification,
and propose synonymic homophone.
So Or( Sp) (Me) example, CANON and CANNON, both from the Greek
kanna. meaning II reed"; canon gets its meaning from reed in the
sense of a rod, while cannon gets its meaning from reed in the
sense of a hollow tube. Although this classification has been termed
a quasi- homograph in the August 1969 Word Ways. I believe that
homophonic doublet is a clearer description.

182

SpMe( So) (Or) example, QUAY (pronounced 1l kee ll , from the French)
and QUAY (pronounced 11 cay", from the Spanish). I can find no
term for this clas sification, and propose synonymic homographs.
spar( So) (Me) example, PRESENT (verb) and PRESENT (noun). I
find no term for this classification, and propose homographic
doublets.
MeOr(So) (Sp) example, KENTUM (Latin) and SATEM (Sanskrit),
both meaning II one hundred". I find no term for this classification,
and propose synonymic doublets.
SoSpMe( Or) example, YANKEE (claimed by Thomas Anbury in his 1789
work, Travels, to corne from the Cherokee eankke, or II coward '1 )
and YANKEE (clai med by H. L. Mencken in his 1937 book) The Amer
ican Langua~e, to corne from the Dutch Janke, the diminutive of
"jan"). T ese are words that have conflicting derivations; the
classic example is the word OK, discussed by Ralph Beaman in the
May 1975 Word Ways. I propose the name derivation variants.
SoSpOr( Me) example, CONDUCT (to lead) and CONDUCT (behavior) .
Although this classification has been termed a pseudo-homograph
in the August 1969 Word Ways, I believe that meaning variant is a
clearer description.
SoMeOr( Sp) example, CHECK and CHEQUE. These are merely
spelling variants.
SpMeOr( So) example, CA RlBBEAN (accented on the third syllable) and
CA RI~BEAN (accented on the second syllable). These are merely
pronunciation variants.
Thus endeth my essay.
suggestions and additions.

I am indebted to Dmitri Borgmann for various

700-~

D. L. paLOI'
Newtonville, ]

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