acronymA word formed from the initial letter or letters of each word in a set of words.
Examples:
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antonym
A word opposite in meaning to another word Example:
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aptronymA person's name that matches it's owner's
occupation or character very well (either in fiction or
reality) Examples:
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autoantonymA word that can take two (or more) opposite
meanings; Examples:
• Often hyphenated as auto-antonym. |
autonym1. A word that describes itself Examples:
3. A name by which a social group or race refers to itself. •From Greek auto (=self). |
bacronymThe reverse of producing an acronym; taking a
word which already exists and creating a phrase (usually humorous)
using the letters of the word as initials Examples:
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capitonymA word which changes its meaning and
pronunciation when capitalized Examples:
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eponym
A person whose name is the source of the name of
something. Examples:
Note: The term eponym is also sometimes used to refer to a word that is derived from a person's name. Websites for researching eponyms: |
exonymA place name used by foreigners that differs
from the name used by natives Examples:
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heteronymOne 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:
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homographA word with the same spelling as another word, whether or not pronounced alike Examples:
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homonym
A word with different origin and meaning but the same oral or
written form as one or more other words Examples:
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homophone
A word with different origin and meaning but the same
pronunciation as another word, whether or not spelled alike Example:
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hypernymA word that has a more general meaning than
another Examples:
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hyponymA word that has a more specific meaning than
another Examples:
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meronym1. A word that refers to a part of what
another word refers to
Examples:
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metonymA word designates something by the name of
something associated with it Examples:
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metronymA name derived from the name of one's mother,
or another female ancestor. From Greek metros (=mother). |
oronymA string of words which is homophonic with
another string of words Examples:
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paronymA word from the same root, and usually a
similar pronunciation, as another; Example:
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patronymA name derived from the name of one's father,
or another male ancestor. • From Greek pater (=father). |
pseudonymAn assumed name, especially by an
author. Examples:
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retronymAn adjective-noun pairing generated by a
change in the meaning of the base noun, usually as a result of
technological advance Examples:
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synonym
One of two or more words in a language that have similar
meanings Example:
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tautonym1. A word composed of two identical
parts Examples:
Examples:
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toponym1. A place name Examples:
2. A word derived from a place name Examples:
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alliteration
The repetition of of initial vowels or consonants at the
beginning of words (e.g., winter
wind, slurp and
soul, or omit and open. |
amphibrachArray |
amphimacerArray |
anapesta three-syllable foot with the stress on the
third. |
ballada quatrain alternating iambic tetrameter in
lines one and three with iambic trimeter in lines two and four. The
rhyme scheme of a ballad is abcb. |
caesuraa natural break or pause in a line of poetry,
usually near the middle of the line, usually marked by
punctuation. |
catalexisdropping an unstressed syllable from the end
of a trochaic or dactylic line. |
dactyla three-syllable foot with the stress on the
first. |
end rhymerhyme at the ends of lines of poetry |
end-stoppeda pause (period or comma) at the end of the
line. |
English/Shakespearean Sonneta fourteen-line poem of four stanzas, three
quatrains and a couplet. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef
gg. |
enjambedno pause at the end of the line. |
epic simileArray |
eye-rhymeArray |
feminine rhymeArray |
figures of speechspecial poetic ways of expressing things,
especially comparisons that are not literally true. |
footthe repeating unit of meter. |
Haikua form of poetry developed in Japan; in
English we use three lines, with syllable counts of 5-7-5 or
3-5-3. |
Heroic coupletsrhymed couplets of iambic pentameter |
hexametera six-foot line. |
iamba two-syllable foot with the stress on the
second syllable. The English language is naturally iambic, and
Shakespeare used iambs for the speeches of good and noble
figures. |
iambic pentameterfive iambs to a line of ten syllables.
Sonnets, rime royal, and heroic couplets all use iambic
pentameter. |
internal rhymerhymes inside the lines, or a word inside a
line that rhymes with a word at the end of a line |
Italian/Petrarchan Sonneta fourteen-line poem of an octave and a
sestet. Abba abba cde cde |
limericka five-line nonsense poem, mostly in anapest,
rhyme scheme aabba. Lines one, two, and five have three feet, but
lines three and four have only two feet. |
masculine rhymeArray |
meterthe pattern of rhythm of syllables. |
near rhymeArray |
onomatopoeiaWords whose sound imitates their suggested meaning, (e.g., buzz, boom, hiss, and clang). |
pentametera five-foot line. |
pyrrhic foota two-syllable foot, both syllables
unstressed. |
quatraina four-line stanza |
reversalArray |
rhymeArray |
rhyme schemeusing letters to show the arrangement of
rhyme, such as ababcdcdefefgg for a sonnet |
Rime Royalseven lines of iambic pentameter, rhyme scheme
ababbcc. |
soundthe manipulation of language sounds |
spondeea two-syllable foot with both syllables
stressed. |
stanzaa part of a poem, based on form of meter and
rhyme |
stressthe emhasis given to certain syllables in
words. |
tetrametera four-foot line. |
trimetera three-foot line. |
trocheeArray |