Equivoque

//ˈɛkwɪvəʊk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A homonym. obsolete
  2. 2
    A play on words, a pun.

    "[H]e sported in many other æquivoques of the same nature; and at dinner told the physician, that he was like the root of the tongue, as being cursedly down in the mouth."

  3. 3
    Ambiguity or double meaning.

    "[T]he black wisps of women bargaining behind those veils might turn out to be the ballet and coalesce in some dance gaily admitting their equivoque of concealing and proclaiming their sex."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Equivocal. obsolete

Example

More examples

"[H]e sported in many other æquivoques of the same nature; and at dinner told the physician, that he was like the root of the tongue, as being cursedly down in the mouth."

Etymology

From Late Latin aequivocus (“ambiguous, equivocal”), from Latin aequus (“equal”) + vocō (“call”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.