I just read a newsletter that featured the word “complementary” (an accompaniment) when the writer really meant “complimentary” (free or offering praise). Many people have a problem with those words, and other homonyms. So let me explain.
Homonym: umbrella category for words that sound the same or are spelled the same.
Homograph: words that are spelled the same and sometimes sound the same, but have different meanings
Examples: bear (to carry)/bear (Fuzzy Wuzzy) and wind (air)/wind (crank)
Homophone: words that sound the same, may be spelled the same, but have different meanings
Examples: they’re/their/there and you’re/your and bear/bear from above. Bear/bear is a homophone and a homograph.
Easy way to remember:
HOMO (same) + PHONE (sound) and HOMO (same) + GRAPH (writing)
OK, now it might get confusing. Also under the homonym umbrella are heteronym and heterograph.
Heteronym: words that are spelled the same, but have different pronunciations and meanings. Notice this is the same definition as “homograph.” “Heteronym” is a subset of “homograph,” which is a subset of “homonym.” Heteronyms are always pronounced differently.
Example: wind (air)/wind (crank) — this is both a homograph and a heteronym
Heterograph: pronounced the same, but spelled differently. Notice this is the same definition as “homophone.””Heterograph” is a subset of “homophone,” which is a subset of “homonym.” Heterographs always have different spellings and meanings.
Example: you (gentle reader)/ewe (lady sheep) and bare (nekkid)/bear (aforementioned Fuzzy).
Luckily, there is no such thing as a heterophone to confuse the matter any further.
Here’s a Venn diagram of the above for you visual folks.
The only problem is that the diagram makes it look like homonyms are only words that are both homophones and homographs. Homonyms are really the whole shebang.
And that’s different from “ad hominem,” which is a logical fallacy that is an argument against a person.
Sigh.
This post started out so simple, and quickly degenerated into an all-out Medusa-style grammar assault with definitions, graphs, compare / contrast. It was frightening and overwhelming and I had to turn away for fear I would turn to stone. How can I be a grammar snob with you reminding how much I don’t remember, or worse yet, never knew?
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Hater.
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I needed this last week…..Mia came home with homework asking for a homophone and I had to look it up on the internet….I had no idea how in-depth my knowledge could have been had I just “Asked Beth”….
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I have trouble with past and passed. It’s kind of embarrassing, but they trip me up every time.
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