Lexicology and Semantics L2

LEXICAL SEMANTICS
According to Brinton L. (2000) “Lexical semantics is the study of the meaning of

individual words (lexical items) in isolation”
James, P. (1995) states “Lexical semantics (also known as lexicosemantic), is a subfield

of linguistic semantics. The units of analysis in lexical semantics are lexical units which
include not only words but also sub-words or sub-units such as affixes and even compound
words and phrases.”
1.1 SYNONYMY
Synonyms are two different words that have the same, or very similar, meaning. They
can be any part of speech (verb, adjective, adverb, noun, or preposition), as long as both
words are the same part of speech. This means that they would both have to be nouns or both
have to be verbs.
According to Brinton, L. (2000) “It denotes sameness in meaning or sense”
 Synonymy is context dependent

Pedigree refers only to animals
Ancestry, genealogy and lineage refers to human beings
Descent refer to either
 Synonymy ignores the connotation of words and recognizes only their denotations
 Synonyms differ on degree and intensity Rain/showers/sprinkles/downpour
 Synonymy ignores stylistic aspects or its social geographical distribution
Elevator (American) Lift (British)
Happy: content, joyful, mirthful, upbeat

Hardworking: diligent, determined, industrious, enterprising
Honest: honorable, fair, sincere, trustworthy
1.2 HYPERNYMY
According to McAllister and E. Miller (2013) " Hypernym is a broad, superordinate label
that applies to many members of a set, while the members themselves are the hyponyms.
"Hyponymy is a hierarchical relationship, and it may consist of a number of levels.”
In linguistics and lexicography, a hypernym is a word whose meaning includes the
meanings of other words. For instance, flower is a hypernym of daisy and rose. Adjective:
hypernymous.
Put another way, hypernyms (also called superordinates and supertypes) are general
words; hyponyms (also called subordinates) are subdivisions of more general words. The
semantic relationship between each of the more specific words (e.g., daisy and rose) and the
more general term (flower) is called hyponymy or inclusion.
Dog is a hypernym for dachshund, Chihuahua, and poodle.
Superhero is a hypernym for Batman and Spider-Man.
diamond, emerald, and ruby are hyponyms of the word gemstone
poker, roulette, and craps are hyponyms of game
1.3 ANTONYMY
Antonymy is oppositeness of meaning between a word and the other word or among
words in the same part of speech, such as good-bad (adjective-adjective) and fast-slowly
(adverb-adverb).
According to Lyons (1977) who states that antonymy covers the relation between
lexical items whose meanings stand in opposition to each other and it is often thought as the
opposite of synonymy.
1. Gradable Antonymy
Gradable antonymy deals with the level of words, it means that there is
something/anything between. For instance, the one can say today is not hot, it may mean
today is not cold. There is scale or space exist between hot and cold, it is warm.
Big-Small Long-Short
2. Complementary Antonymy
If something is A, then it is not B. If something is X, then it is Y. This the example of

complementary antonymy. If something is on, then it is not off.
On-Off Male-Female
3. Relational Antonymy
In the relational antonymy, the pairs of words are the reversal of a relationship of words.
To summarize, one exists only because the other does. Palmer (1982) gives some examples
below:
Buy-Sell Lend-Borrow
1.4 HOMOMYMY
According to Nordquist, R. (2018) “The word Homonymy is the relation between

words with identical forms but different meanings—that is, the condition of being
homonyms. A stock example is the word bank as it appears in "river bank" and "savings
bank."
Homonymy is recognized as a language universal. It creates lexical ambiguity in that

a single form has two or more different meanings. Homonyms – the words of one and the
same language which are identical phonetically or graphically in all or several grammar
forms (and in all or several phonetic and graphic variants) but which have essential difference
in lexical or grammatical meanings.
It follows that in their classification of homonyms all the three aspects: sound-form,
graphic form and meaning are taken into account.
1. Homographs are words identical jn spelling, but different both in their sound-form and
meaning, e.g. bow n 'a piece of wood curved by a string and used for shooting arrows' and
bow n [bau]— 'the bending of the head or body'.
2. Homophones are words identical in sound-form but different both in spelling and in
meaning,' e.g. sea n and see v; son n and sun n.
3. Perfect homonyms are words identical both in spelling and in sound-form but different
in meaning, e.g. case1 n—'something that has happened' and case2 n—'a box, a container'.
1.5 POLYSEMY
Polysemy is an aspect of semantic ambiguity that concerns the multiplicity of word

meanings. For a commonplace example, consider the meaning of the adjective good in the
following sentences:
1. We had a good time yesterday.
2. Bring me a good banana.
3. That ticket is good for travel on any flight.
4. It’s a good ten miles to the next gas station.
In each case, good carries a different meaning:
1. Pleasurable, enjoyable, or satisfying.

2. Suitable for an intended purpose.
3. Generally valid and acceptable.
4. Emphatically full or complete.
1.6 METONYMY
It is the substitution of a word referring to an attribute for the thing that is meant, as
for example the use of the crown to refer to a monarch.
It is the act of referring to something using a word that describes one of its qualities
or features
 The big house—Refers to prison

 The pen—Can refer to prison or to the act of writing
 Stuffed shirts—People in positions of authority, especially in a business
setting
REFERENCE
Brinton, L (2000) The structure of modern English. A linguistic Introduction; John

Benjamins Publishing Company; Amsterdam Philadelphia
Nordquist, D. (2018) Semantic feature; https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-antonymy-

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LEXICAL SEMANTICS

According to Brinton L. (2000) “Lexical semantics is the study of the meaning of

James, P. (1995) states “Lexical semantics (also known as lexicosemantic), is a subfield

According to Brinton, L. (2000) “It denotes sameness in meaning or sense”

 Synonymy is context dependent

Happy: content, joyful, mirthful, upbeat

Dog is a hypernym for dachshund, Chihuahua, and poodle.

Superhero is a hypernym for Batman and Spider-Man.

diamond, emerald, and ruby are hyponyms of the word gemstone

poker, roulette, and craps are hyponyms of game

If something is A, then it is not B. If something is X, then it is Y. This the example of

According to Nordquist, R. (2018) “The word Homonymy is the relation between

Homonymy is recognized as a language universal. It creates lexical ambiguity in that

Polysemy is an aspect of semantic ambiguity that concerns the multiplicity of word

In each case, good carries a different meaning:

1. Pleasurable, enjoyable, or satisfying.

 The big house—Refers to prison

Brinton, L (2000) The structure of modern English. A linguistic Introduction; John

Nordquist, D. (2018) Semantic feature; https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-antonymy-

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