paronym

par·o·nym
P3A1R1O1N1Y4M3
UK, UK/ˈpæɹənɪm/British, Midlands, Northern England, Southern, Standard, UK/ˈpaɹənɪm/Scotland, UK, Wales/ˈpaɾənɪm/Canada, US/ˈpɛɹənɪm/

noun

A word derived from the same root or stem as another word; classes include cognates and naturalizations of foreign words.

Similar
isonym
OriginAncient Greek παρώνυμος →
Scrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounparonym (plural paronyms)

plural paronyms

  1. human sciencesA word derived from the same root or stem as another word; classes include cognates and naturalizations of foreign words.

    Synonyms: isonym

  2. rareA near-homophone, a word that sounds like another word (some example pairs are cognate).

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA word derived from the same root or stem as another word; classes include cognates and naturalizations of foreign words.

Similar
isonym

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekπαρώνυμος“derivative”
  2. Englishparonym

Coined around 1846 from Ancient Greek παρώνυμος (parṓnumos, “derivative”), equivalent to para- + -onym.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian парони́м, парони́м
  • парони́м (paroním)word derived from the same root/stem
  • парони́м (paroním)word that sounds like another word
Catalan parònim
  • parònimword that sounds like another word
Chinese Mandarin 同源詞 /同源词
  • 同源詞 /同源词 (tóngyuáncí)word derived from the same root/stem
Dutch paroniem
  • paroniemword that sounds like another word
Esperanto paronimo, paronimo
  • paronimoword derived from the same root/stem
  • paronimoword that sounds like another word
Finnish kaltaissana, paronyymi
  • kaltaissanaword that sounds like another word
  • paronyymiword that sounds like another word
French paronyme
  • paronymeword that sounds like another word
German Paronym, Paronym
  • Paronymword derived from the same root/stem
  • Paronymword that sounds like another word
  • Homöophonword that sounds like another word
Greek παρώνυμο
  • παρώνυμο (parónymo)word that sounds like another word
Hungarian azonos eredetű szó, paronima
  • azonos eredetű szóword derived from the same root/stem
  • paronimaword that sounds like another word
  • hasonló alakú szóword that sounds like another word
Japanese 同根語, 類音語
  • 同根語 (dōkongo)word derived from the same root/stem
  • 類音語 (ruiongo)word that sounds like another word
Polish paronim
  • paronimword that sounds like another word
Portuguese parónimo, parónimo
  • parónimoword derived from the same root/stem
  • parónimoword that sounds like another word
Romanian paronim
  • paronimword that sounds like another word
Russian когна́т, родственное сло́во
  • когна́т (kognát)word derived from the same root/stem
  • родственное сло́во (rodstvennoje slóvo)word derived from the same root/stem
  • пароним (paronim)word derived from the same root/stem
  • паро́ним (parónim)word that sounds like another word
Spanish parónimo, parónimo
  • parónimoword derived from the same root/stem
  • parónimoword that sounds like another word

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

paranym

Anagrams

apronym
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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