Homophone: Difference between revisions
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A [[homophone]] is a word that sounds exactly like another. 'Meat', referring to | A [[homophone]] is a word that sounds exactly like another. 'Meat', referring to flesh, sounds exactly like 'meet', meaning 'come together'. | ||
When homophones have the same spelling, they are also [[homonyms]]: the [[modal verb]] 'will' as in 'will they ever come?' sounds and also looks exactly like the [[noun]] 'will' as in 'having a strong will' or 'last will and testament'. | When homophones have the same spelling, they are also [[homonyms]]: the [[modal verb]] 'will' as in 'will they ever come?' sounds and also looks exactly like the [[noun]] 'will' as in 'having a strong will' or 'last will and testament'. | ||
Revision as of 17:34, 15 March 2010
A homophone is a word that sounds exactly like another. 'Meat', referring to flesh, sounds exactly like 'meet', meaning 'come together'.
When homophones have the same spelling, they are also homonyms: the modal verb 'will' as in 'will they ever come?' sounds and also looks exactly like the noun 'will' as in 'having a strong will' or 'last will and testament'.
Words with the same spelling are called homographs, but they are not all homophones: some have different pronunciations, and are heteronyms, as for example the verb 'to tear', meaning 'to rip', and 'tear', as in 'tearful'.[1] Thus homonyms are homophonic homographs.
References
- ↑ In the notation used at English spellings, téar rip and têar cry (cf. tén and têen)