Definition:
A word that denotes a constituent part or a member of something. For example, apple is a meronym of apple tree.
The opposite of a meronym is a holonym--the name of the whole of which the meronym is a part. Apple tree is a holonym of apple.
See also:
Etymology:
From the Greek, "part" + "name"Examples and Observations:
- "[I]n one context finger is an appropriate meronym of hand, and in other cases flesh is an appropriate meronym of hand. Finger and flesh, however, are not co-meronyms of hand, since different relational criteria (functional part versus material) are applied in each case."
(M. Lynne Murphy, Semantic Relations and the Lexicon: Antonymy, Synonymy and Other Paradigms. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003) - "In many ways, meronymy is significantly more complicated than hyponymy. The Wordnet databases specify three types of meronym relationships:
- Part meronym: a 'tire' is part of a 'car'
- Member meronym: a 'car' is a member of a 'traffic jam'
- Substance (stuff) meronym: a 'wheel' is made from 'rubber'"
- "Meronymy is a term used to describe a part-whole relationship between lexical items. Thus cover and page are meronyms of book. . . .
"Meronyms vary . . . in how necessary the part is to the whole. Some are necessary for normal examples, for example nose as a meronym of face; others are usual but not obligatory, like collar as a meronym of shirt; still others are optional like cellar for house."
(John I. Saeed, Semantics, 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2003)
