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Contronym - Wikipedia

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A contronym or contranym is a word with two opposite meanings. For example, the word cleave can mean "to cling" or "to split apart". This feature is also called enantiosemy,[1][2] enantionymy (enantio- means "opposite"), antilogy or autoantonymy. An enantiosemic term is by definition polysemic (having more than one meaning). A contronym is alternatively called an autantonym, auto-antonym, antagonym,[3][4] enantiodrome, enantionym, Janus word (after the Roman god Janus, who is usually depicted with two faces),[4] self-antonym, antilogy, or addad (Arabic, singular didd).[5][6] Denotations and connotations of words can drift or branch over centuries. An apocryphal story relates how Charles II (or sometimes Queen Anne) described St Paul's Cathedral (using contemporaneous English) as "amusing, awful, and artificial", with the meaning (rendered in modern English) of "amazing, awe-inspiring, and artistic."[7] Seeming contronyms can arise from translation. In Hawaiian, for example, aloha is tr

Contronym - Wikipedia Jump to content From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Word that has two opposing meanings "Enantiodrome" redirects here. For the Jungian principle of equilibrium, see Enantiodromia . A contronym is a word with two opposite meanings . For example, the word clip can mean "attach," as in paperclip , or "cut off," as in "clip the hedges." Since a contronym has at least two meanings, it is by definition polysemic . Linguistics [ edit ] Etymology [ edit ] The word combines the prefix contr(a)- (from the Latin contrā) and the suffix -onym (from international scientific vocabular

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