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单词 polysemy
释义

polysemy

enUK

pol·y·se·mous

P0430050 (pŏl′ē-sē′məs)adj. Having or characterized by many meanings, as the words play and table.
[From Late Latin polysēmus, from Greek polusēmos : polu-, poly- + sēma, sign.]
pol′y·se′my (pŏl′ē-sē′mē, pə-lĭs′ə-) n.

polysemy

(ˌpɒlɪˈsiːmɪ; pəˈlɪsəmɪ) n (Linguistics) the existence of several meanings in a single word. Compare monosemy[C20: from New Latin polysēmia, from Greek polusēmos having many meanings, from poly- + sēma a sign] ˌpolyˈsemous, polysemic, polyseme adj

pol•y•se•my

(ˈpɒl iˌsi mi, pəˈlɪs ə mi)

n. diversity of meanings. [< French polysémie (1897) < Late Latin polysēm(us) with many meanings (< Greek polýsēmos)] pol`y•se′mous, adj.

polysemy

a diversity of meanings for a given word.See also: Language
Thesaurus
Noun1.polysemy - the ambiguity of an individual word or phrase that can be used (in different contexts) to express two or more different meaningslexical ambiguityequivocalness, ambiguity - unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaningmonosemy - having a single meaning (absence of ambiguity) usually of individual words or phrases
Translations
polisemiapolysémie

Polysemy

enUK

Polysemy

 

the existence of more than one meaning for a given word, that is, the capability of a word to convey different information about objects and phenomena of extralinguistic reality. For example, the Russian word gorlo has four meanings: “throat” (the front part of the neck), “gullet” (the cavity behind the mouth), “neck” (the narrowed upper part of a bottle), and “estuary” (a narrow water passage). In many languages, including Russian, there are more polysemous words than words with one meaning. It is customary to differentiate polysemy from homonymy, since the meanings of a polysemous word are associated with common semantic elements (semantic attributes) and form a certain semantic unity (the semantic structure of the word).

In polysemy, a distinction is made between primary and secondary (derived) meanings; these meanings are sometimes referred to as literal and figurative, respectively. Primary meanings, as a rule, are least affected by context. With time, the relationship between the primary and secondary meanings may change. Different types of polysemy exist for different types of words; for example, there is relatively regular and irregular polysemy. Russian words designating populated areas, such as a city, village, or settlement, can also mean “the inhabitants of a populated area,” that is, they follow a definite [regular] semantic formula; secondary [figurative] meanings, for example, the application of names of animals (lion, fox) to people, are individual [irregular]. The unique combination of meanings designated by a single word is to a large extent what determines the uniqueness of the word stock of a given language. The grammatical forms of a word and syntactic constructions may also be polysemous.

REFERENCES

Vinogradov, V. V. “Osnovnye tipy leksicheskikh znachenii slova.” Voprosy iazykoznaniia, 1953, no. 5.
Akhmanova, O. S. Ocherki po obshchei i russkoi leksikologii. Moscow, 1957.
Kurylowycz, J. “Zametki o znachenii slova.” In Ocherki po lingvistike. Moscow, 1962. (Translated from Polish, English, French, and German.)
Ullmann, S. The Principles of Semantics, 2nd ed. Glasgow, 1959.

D. N. SHMELEV


Polysemy

 

an important concept in logic, logical semantics, semiotics, and linguistics. Polysemy was originally a linguistic concept, but it is natural that the concept should have found application in all the above-mentioned fields. Polysemy is the existence of different senses and/or meanings for a single word, expression, or phrase; the term also denotes the existence of different interpretations for a single sign or combination of signs. The term is usually applied when the different senses, meanings, or interpretations are to some extent interrelated.

polysemy

enUK
  • noun

Synonyms for polysemy

noun the ambiguity of an individual word or phrase that can be used (in different contexts) to express two or more different meanings

Synonyms

  • lexical ambiguity

Related Words

  • equivocalness
  • ambiguity

Antonyms

  • monosemy
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更新时间:2024/9/24 6:17:59