polysemy

pol·y·se·my

P p

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [pol-ee-see-mee, puh-lis-uh-mee]
- /ˈpɒl iˌsi mi, pəˈlɪs ə mi/
- /pəˈlɪs.ɪ.məs/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [pol-ee-see-mee, puh-lis-uh-mee]
- /ˈpɒl iˌsi mi, pəˈlɪs ə mi/

Definitions of polysemy word

noun polysemy a condition in which a single word, phrase, or concept has more than one meaning or connotation. 1
noun polysemy the existence of several meanings in a single word 0
noun polysemy the phenomenon of having or being open to several or many meanings 0

See all 3 definitions of polysemy

Information block about the term

Origin of polysemy

First appearance:

before 1895

One of the 18% newest English words

1895-1900; < New Latin polysēmia, equivalent to Late Latin polysēm(us) with many significations (< Greek polýsēmos, equivalent to poly- poly- + sêm(a) sign + -os adj. suffix) + -ia -y3

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Polysemy

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Polysemy

polysemy popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 68% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

polysemy usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for polysemy

noun polysemy

ambiguity — If you say that there is ambiguity in something, you mean that it is unclear or confusing, or it can be understood in more than one way.
double-entendre — a double meaning.
equivocacy — Equivocalness.
inconclusiveness — The state or condition of being inconclusive.
indeterminateness — The quality of being indeterminate.

All 5 Synonyms of polysemy