synonym English · revision 946

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɪn.əˌnɪm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sinonyme]], [[bor|frm|synonyme]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and directly [[der|la|synōnymum]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|συνώνυμον|tr=sunṓnumon|t=word with the same sense]], the neuter of ''sunṓnumos'' “having the same name”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[af|grc|σύν|ὄνυμα|tr1=sún|tr2=ónuma|t1=together, same|t2=name]], the latter an Aeolic form of ''ónoma''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A word having the same sense as another in the same language (1432–50 in the OED; before 1425 in Barnhart, as the plural ''sinonymes'').^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until the 18th century the word was usually used in the plural, ''synonymes'' or ''synonyma'', and the modern singular rarely appears before the end of that century except in dictionaries.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) From 1631 it also meant a name or expression that implies or stands for something else, as when a person's name becomes a synonym for a quality.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) In natural history a ''synonym'' is a scientific name applied to the same taxon as another (1659).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1425 – ''sinonymes'', synonyms (Barnhart).^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1432–50 – a word with the same sense (OED).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610 – ''synonymous''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1631 – a name standing for a quality or idea.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1659 – a scientific name of the same taxon.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A word or expression with the same or nearly the same meaning as another in the same language, as ''glad'' and ''joyful''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A word or name that by association stands for something, as in ''a name that became a synonym for oppression''; a [[metonym]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(biology)'' One of two or more scientific names for the same [[taxon]], especially a superseded one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[synonymic]]

+ * [[synonymity]]

+ * [[synonymous]]

+ * [[synonymy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[antonym]]

+ * [[homonym]]

+ * [[name]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}