Re: What two words . . . ?

[jmclean@chem.ucsd.edu (James Mclean)]

Larry Smith says:
> > Webster's Coll Dictionary:
> > homonym:  . . .   one of two or more words spelled and pronounced alike
> > but different in meaning . . . (eg, the noun quail and the verb quail).
>
> The Webseter's (Dictionary for Everyday Use) on my shelf says:
> homonym: n. a word having the same pronunciation as another but a different
> meaning, e.g. air and heir.  Also homophone.

I guess 'Everyday Use' means that if a word is misused frequently enough,
it acquires a new meaning.  (That's not sarcasm - I suspect that's a real
mode of language evolution :-)

If you are the sort of person who cares about these things, you might be
interested in the new game "Be-thump'd" to which I was recently
introduced.  Along with homophones and homonyms, it features homographs,
epinyms (I think that's what they were), word history, and so forth.

-- 
--James McLean
jmclean@chem.ucsd.edu
post doc
UC San Diego, Chemistry