homonym

H4O1M3O1N1Y4M3
UK/ˈhɒmənɪm/US/ˈhɑmənɪm/

noun

A word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word.

OriginLatin homōnymum ← Ancient Greek ὁμώνυμον →
UncommonScrabble 17
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Meanings

nounhomonym (plural homonyms)

plural homonyms

  1. A word that sounds or is spelled the same as another word (but not necessarily both).
    1. broadlystrictlyhuman sciencesA word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word.
    2. broadlybiologyA name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another name that belongs to a different taxon.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
namesakepolyseme

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekὁμώνυμον
  2. Latinhomōnymum
  3. Englishhomonym

From Latin homōnymum, from Ancient Greek ὁμώνυμον (homṓnumon), nominalized from the neuter of ὁμώνῠμος (homṓnŭmos, “homonymous”). By surface analysis, hom- + -onym.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ὁμώνυμος
  • ὁμώνυμος (homṓnumos)word with the same sound or spelling
Bulgarian омоним
  • омоним (omonim)word with the same sound or spelling
Catalan homònim
  • homònimword with the same sound or spelling
Czech homonymum
  • homonymumword with the same sound or spelling
Danish homonym
  • homonymword with the same sound or spelling
Dutch homoniem
  • homoniemword with the same sound or spelling
Esperanto homonimo
  • homonimoword with the same sound or spelling
Finnish homonymia
  • homonymiaword with the same sound or spelling
French homonyme
  • homonymeword with the same sound or spelling
German Homonym, Homonymum
  • Homonymword with the same sound or spelling
  • Homonymumword with the same sound or spelling
Greek ομώνυμο, ομώνυμος
  • ομώνυμο (omónymo)word with the same sound or spelling
  • ομώνυμος (omónymos)word with the same sound or spelling
Hebrew הוֹמוֹנִים
  • הוֹמוֹנִיםword with the same sound or spelling
Hungarian homonima, azonos alakú szó
  • homonimaword with the same sound or spelling
  • azonos alakú szóword with the same sound or spelling
Indonesian homonim
  • homonimword with the same sound or spelling
Japanese 同音異義語, 同音語
  • 同音異義語 (dōon igigo)word with the same sound or spelling
  • 同音語 (dōongo)word with the same sound or spelling
Korean 동음이의어
  • 동음이의어 (dong'eumiuieo)word with the same sound or spelling
Latin homonymum
  • homonymumword with the same sound or spelling
Māori kupu huarite
  • kupu huariteword with the same sound or spelling
Polish homonim
  • homonimword with the same sound or spelling
Portuguese homónimo, homônimo
  • homónimoword with the same sound or spelling
  • homônimoword with the same sound or spelling
Romanian omonim
  • omonimword with the same sound or spelling
Russian омо́ним
  • омо́ним (omónim)word with the same sound or spelling
Spanish homónimo
  • homónimoword with the same sound or spelling
Swedish homonym
  • homonymword with the same sound or spelling
Tamil பல்பொருள் ஒருசொல்
  • பல்பொருள் ஒருசொல் (palporuḷ orucol)word with the same sound or spelling
Thai คำพ้องความหมาย
  • คำพ้องความหมาย (kam-pɔ́ɔng-kwaam-mǎai)word with the same sound or spelling
Turkish homonim, sesteş
  • homonimword with the same sound or spelling
  • sesteşword with the same sound or spelling
Ukrainian омо́нім
  • омо́нім (omónim)word with the same sound or spelling
Cite this entry
APA

homonym. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homonym

MLA

“homonym.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homonym. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “homonym,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homonym.

Source: homonym on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.