A complex looking word that has a simple meaning referring to multiple meanings. Confused?

The root noun word polysemy comes from the Greek poly- (many) -sÄ“ma (signs) and today is defined as many meanings. It’s most commonly used in its adjective form such as polysemous words—words that have multiple meanings.

For example, prune may refer to a fruit or the act of trimming branches. Bank can be a financial institution, or the ground at the edge of a river.

Even more confusing are words that are spelled the same, yet have different sounds and meanings. For example, a wound is an injury, but wound is the past tense of wind.

The challenge for non-native speakers of English? Roughly half of all of our words have more than one meaning, so it can be quite challenging to learn the variations.

2 Comments

  1. Juno's mom on August 22, 2022 at 11:17 am

    The complexity of English makes spotting spam email particularly useful and entertaining.

    • HokiePack on August 22, 2022 at 1:05 pm

      Exactly !! ???

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