Do you know what polysemy is? we call polysemy the property of a word or expression that has several meanings in addition to its original meaning. Polysemic words have a relation of meaning to each other, which differentiates them from homonymous words.
while the words namesakes – words with different origins and meanings, but with the same spelling and phonemes – have different origins for their meanings, polysemic words establish a connection among themselves, referring to similar mental representations (by example, saturn ring and wedding ring refer to an idea of a circular object). So that you can make a better distinction between the two linguistic phenomena, look at the examples:
Example of polysemy:
Candle:
1. Cylindrical piece of greasy and combustible substance, with a wick in the center, and which serves to light; taper.
2. Part that ignites combustion engines.
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3. Canvas or denim piece that, upon receiving the blow of the wind, propels boats; cloth.
4. Act of watching.
Mango:
1. Part of the garment where you put your arm.
2. Any tube-shaped piece that covers or protects another piece.
3. The fruit of the mango tree.
Examples of homonyms:
They are:
1. Syncopated form of saint used before names beginning with consonant.
2. Sound.
3. That you are healthy, or that you got it back.
4. Fruit not rotten.
Of:
1. Compassion.
2. Sadness.
3. The first degree of the natural diatonic scale.
4. Note C on the staff.
Thus, polysemic words belong to the same semantic field, while homonymous words do not present any kind of semantic relation each other.
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PEREZ, Luana Castro Alves. "What is polysemy?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/portugues/o-que-e-polissemia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.