Sometimes different senses of the same word have different etymons. For example, mole as a small burrowing animal and mole as a chemical quantity are etymologically unrelated.
Is there a name for this situation?
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2They are just homonyms. Like "bark" or "rose".– Hot LicksCommented Aug 30, 2020 at 0:42
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1Curiously, mole as in Avogadro’s number is etymologically related to mole as in a stone breakwater, both coming from Latin moles by different routes– HenryCommented Aug 30, 2020 at 1:01
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@HotLicks "bottle" as a verb and "bottle" as a noun are homonyms but share an etymon.– kdogCommented Aug 30, 2020 at 2:07
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@kdog - Yep, there's no term for homonyms that do not have a common etymology.– Hot LicksCommented Aug 30, 2020 at 2:30
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@HotLicks, no, there is, wikipedia calls these true homonyms right in the lede for [[homonym]]. The definition is still difficult, because there are various degrees of relation. It's even more difficult if rejecting the idea of genetic language relation, which while claiming to serve rigor is not actually rigorously definable without circular reasoning and dancing around the issue at an arbitrarily set save distance. It's trivial in many cases though, regardless of the odd edge case.– vectoryCommented Sep 3, 2020 at 2:05
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1 Answer
I believe homograph is what you're looking for.
Homograph:
Homographs are words that are spelled alike, but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations. The root graph comes from the Greek word meaning “drawn or written,” thus these terms are written the same. For example, stalk is both a plant stem and a verb meaning to pursue stealthily. Homographs also have different etymologies.
Homonyms are words spelled or pronounced alike but different in meaning. Since homonym is used to (ambiguously) describe either a homograph or homophone, it can cause confusion, though it is often heard in classrooms in early grades. The root -nym simply means “word” or “name,” so it applies more broadly than its counterparts.
answered Aug 30, 2020 at 7:08
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A homonym has both the same spelling and the same pronunciation. Commented Aug 30, 2020 at 12:05
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@HotLicks, Yes....?? "Homonyms are words spelled or pronounced alike but different in meaning." Commented Aug 30, 2020 at 12:08
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@DecapitatedSoul Great answer thank you. Unfortunately, although the OED limits the term "homograph" to senses of different origin, other sources, notably Wikipedia's list of homographs, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_homographs allow homographs to have the same origin. This makes actually using the term usefully impossible, since there are two entirely inconsistent definitions in wide use.– kdogCommented Aug 30, 2020 at 18:09
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DecapitatedSoul, @HotLicks is claiming that homonyms must have both the same spelling and pronunciation simultaneously, whereas your source states that one, the other, or both being alike is sufficient for homonymy.– A. KvåleCommented Dec 18, 2021 at 3:29