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This glossary contains definitions for words used throughout the website.  If you have a suggestion of a word that should be included here, please e-mail me at tim@mr-anderson.com.



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H

Haiku

:
a form of poetry developed in Japan; in English we use three lines, with syllable counts of 5-7-5 or 3-5-3.

Heroic couplets

:
rhymed couplets of iambic pentameter

heteronym

:
One of two (or more) words that have the same spelling, but different meaning, and sometimes different pronunciation too. (Heteronyms that are pronounced differently are also heterophones.)

Examples:
  • sewer
  • row
  • entrance
  • wind.
A heteronym is a kind of homonym.

hexameter

:
a six-foot line.

high-frequency word

:
A word that appears many more times than most other words in spoken or written language.

homograph

:

A word with the same spelling as another word, whether or not pronounced alike

Examples:

  • pen (a writing instrument) vs. pen (an enclosure)
  • bow (and arrow) vs. bow (of a ship)

homonym

:

A word with different origin and meaning but the same oral or written form as one or more other words

Examples:

  • bear (an animal) vs. bear (to support) vs. bare (exposed)
Homonyms include homophones and homographs.

homophone

:

A word with different origin and meaning but the same pronunciation as another word, whether or not spelled alike

Example:

  • hair and hare

hyperbole

:
A figure of speech which uses a deliberate exaggeration (e.g., I have told you a million times).

hypernym

:
A word that has a more general meaning than another

Examples:
  • in the relationship between chair and furniture, furniture is a hypernym
  • in the relationship between horse and animal, animal is a hypernym.
• From Greek hyper (=over).

Keyword(s):

hyponym

:
A word that has a more specific meaning than another

Examples:
  • in the relationship between chair and furniture, chair is a hyponym
  • in the relationship between horse and animal, horse is a hyponym

hypothesize

:
To make an assertion about something assumed but not positively known.