Heteronymy
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The condition of being heteronyms; the relationship between two words with different meanings and either the same spelling or the same pronunciation but not both. countable, uncountable
"We find also the ancient term ārcūbālīstǎ (or with II,) which, with the aid of otosis, elision, and heteronymy, arising out of the varying use and changing shape of the weapon, will account for all the forms cited."
- 2 The unrelatedness of words for items that are related by being members of a single category. countable, uncountable
"...phenomenon that is here called sex heteronymy, which implies that the two sexes of animals (or human beings, for instance relatives) are referred to by words which are altogether dissimilar as in bull: cow, (aunt: uncle) Deer."
- 3 Dissimilarity of people in a single group. broadly, countable, uncountable
"Differentiation simply increases, on a grander scale, the heteronymy and chaos that are the historical attribute of this society."
- 4 The use of multiple names for a single person or thing; polyonymy countable, uncountable
"German dialects show a great deal of heteronymy for spring and autumn, English ones mainly for autumn. This is surprising in view of the fact that historically the English terms for 'spring' show greater heteronymy than those for 'autumn'."
- 5 A single word or symbol that can have different but related meanings. countable, uncountable
"Heteronymies, or propositions false in S by virtue of the meanings of the terms entering in them."
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- 6 Resulting from the actions of multiple or external causal agents. countable, uncountable
"If we are to define emotion as distinctly representative in character, must we not ascribe emotion to all the lower animal forms only by heteronymy ?"
Example
More examples"We find also the ancient term ārcūbālīstǎ (or with II,) which, with the aid of otosis, elision, and heteronymy, arising out of the varying use and changing shape of the weapon, will account for all the forms cited."
Etymology
From hetero- + -onymy.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.