Definition:
Two or more words (such as knew and new or meat and meet) that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and often spelling. Adjective: homophonous. See also:
- 200 Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs
- Store Name Puns
- Commonly Confused Words
- The Spell Checker Poem
Etymology:
From the Latin, "same sound"Examples:
- "Her technique is a model, to some observers, of what makes an interview great; to others, of what makes an interview grate."
(on Barbara Walters, "Not for Women Only," Time, Feb. 21, 1972) - "Would you have supposed that cue/queue would give trouble? A cue is a hint; a queue is the long line at the airline counter, the one headed by a guy going to Ankara by way of Fort Worth. In New Jersey, 'executives at large firms are increasingly taking queues from small business.' In Florida, TV comedian Imogene Coca recalled a time when a technician 'had no queue cards.' In Bloomington, Ind., last April, police raided a tavern after they received a queue from officers inside. There's no way to blame these boners on typographical errors. The writers tripped over homophones."
(James J. Kilpatrick, "The Writer's Art," Nov. 15, 1992) - The noun peace (freedom from strife) and the noun piece (a part of a larger thing). Peace comes from the Latin word pax. Piece comes from the Vulgar Latin word pettia.
- "A solid-gold Bloopie to Bergdorf Goodman, for the phrase 'Discrete extravagance. . . .' The word meaning 'cautious, prudent, wary, tight-lipped' is discreet, which forms a nice oxymoron with extravagance; but the homophone discrete means 'separate, distinct, unattached, removed from.'"
(William Safire, "On Language," The New York Times, April 22, 1990) - "Homophone corner: 'He has in principal agreed to support [a school] with a partner in north Kensington.'"
(reported by readers' editor Siobhain Butterworth in The Guardian, Nov. 29, 2007)
