My new word is…
…contronym!
It’s a new word to me, even though I was an English teacher in a previous life!
A contronym is a word that can be its own opposite!
In German, contronyms are called Janus words, named after the two-faced God of duality, Janus, in Roman mythology.
So…you know synonyms are words that share the same or similar meanings. And…you know that antonyms have the opposite meanings. But what about contronyms?
Contronyms are words that have two meanings that contradict each other , like “clip” which can mean to fasten together OR mean to cut apart.
Here are a few more examples:
Apology can mean a statement of contrition for an action OR a defense of one.
Bolt can mean both to secure in place OR to dash away suddenly.
Left can mean both remaining OR also departed.
Off can mean either activated OR deactivated. For example to “set off”= activated OR to “switch off”= deactivated.
Peer can mean a person of the nobility OR an equal.
Weather can mean to withstand OR to wear away.
(Just a reminder…when we use a contronym, we need to provide the reader with enough context to figure out which of the two contradictory meanings we mean!)
Our English language is amazing, don’t you think?
It’s never too late to learn a new word, which of course can mean a new concept/idea/expression!
Words are fun!
3 Comments
What a wonderful example of how becoming more skilled with language has the potential to make us better at communicating which can improve community….we need to give context. The benefit of improving community has, for me, been shown by our experience with the virus. (I’m looking for ANYTHING good I can find in this mess.)
Karl, so good to hear from you! So maybe some “good” is our increased sensitivity to a larger community’s needs. We all seem to be vulnerable and, thus perhaps more attuned to finding ways to be of value to those in our overall community?
Learning how best to express our thoughts is an art. So easy for another to read into our speech something entirely opposite to what we mean.
Wars have started over a misperception, friendships broken; marriages tainted for lack of clarity.
Good one, Pat!