Mr. A's Glossary
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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CLASSES OF WORDS |
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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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POETIC ELEMENTS |
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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 | |