homophene

H4O1M3O1P3H4E1N1E1

noun

Any of a set of words that sound different, but look identical on a person's lips, so that they cannot be distinguished by lipreading.

OriginAncient Greek φαίνω →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounhomophene (plural homophenes)

plural homophenes

  1. Any of a set of words that sound different, but look identical on a person's lips, so that they cannot be distinguished by lipreading.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekφαίνω“to shine, to show, to appear”
  2. Englishhomophene

From homo- +Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō, “to shine, to show, to appear”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

homophene. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homophene

MLA

“homophene.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homophene. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “homophene,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homophene.

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