In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
HOMOGRAPH
homograph
(noun) two words are homographs if they are spelled the same way but differ in meaning (e.g. fair)
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
homograph (plural homographs)
A word that is spelled the same as another word, usually having a different etymology.
(computing) A text character or string that looks identical to another when rendered.
Hyponym: homoglyph
Usage notes
Homographs are a kind of homonym in the loose sense of that term, i.e. a word that is either a homophone (same sound) or a homograph (same spelling). (The strict sense of homonym is a word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word.) Specifically, homographs must have the same spelling, though they usually have different meanings and may be pronounced differently.
• The verb bear (“to carry”) and the noun bear (“large omnivorous mammal”) are homographs with the same pronunciation and different etymological origins.
• The verb alternate (“to go back and forth”) and the adjective alternate (“following by turns”) are homographs with different pronunciations but close etymological origins. Such homographs are also heteronyms.
• The verb meet (“to encounter”) and the noun meat (“food”) are not homographs since they have different spellings.
Source: Wiktionary
Hom"o*graph, n. Etym: [Gr. "omo`grafos with the same letters; "omo`s the same + gra`fein to write.] (Philol.)
Definition: One of two or more words identical in orthography, but having different derivations and meanings; as, fair, n., a market, and fair, a., beautiful.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
18 November 2024
AWRY
(adjective) not functioning properly; “something is amiss”; “has gone completely haywire”; “something is wrong with the engine”
Coffee Trivia
