Definition of Paronymous Words

From a semantic point of view some words can be confused with some ease. This is what happens with paronyms and also with homonymous words.

Paronymous words

The word paronym comes from the Greek, specifically from the prefix para, which means next to or close to, plus the word onoma, which means name. Therefore, paronyms are those that are similar or close to each other and, consequently, can be easily confused. Paronymous words have a spelling or writing very similar but its sound and its meaning are different. Let's illustrate this definition with some examples: fitness Y attitude, affected and effect, mesh and mesh, dozen and ten, foresee and provide, slab and earthenware, etc.

To try to avoid a possible confusion between the paronyms, a useful trick is to pay attention to their writing and their sound.

Paronymy and paronomasia

Paronymy is used with some frequency as a rhetorical or literary device, especially in the poetry. When this occurs, we speak of paronomasia. Thus, paronomasia consists of using paronyms in a poem in order to create a sound effect. Paronomasia is also used as a resource in some jokes, word games, and tongue twisters (three sad tigers is a meaningful example of a word game based on this figure).

It should be noted that paronomasia used as a play on words is similar to another literary figure, the calambur, which is intended to joke with the words (for example, what the count hides or I love you, but not I want tea).

The homonymous words

The homonymous words are those that present a different form, different meaning and also a different etymology with respect to their origin, but due to the evolution of the language they have ended up having the same or very similar shape. In fact, the term homonymy means equal words.

There are two types of homonyms: homographs and homophones.

The first ones are written and pronounced exactly the same, for example close when it is a adverb proximity and close as a synonym for fence. Homophones sound similar but are written differently (for example, hello when it is a greeting or a wave when it refers to the sea).

Photos: iStock - Alejandro Rivera / Izabela Habur