Heteronym
/ˈhɛt.ə.rə.nɪm/noun
A word that has the same spelling as another word but a different pronunciation and meaning.
Did you know?Heteronym comes from the same Greek root behind “anonymous” and “synonym,” where onoma/onyma means “name” — a reminder that words were once treated like identity magic.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
heterōnymos
“having a different name or designation”
Late Latin
Latin
heteronymus
“different-named”
19th Century
English
heteronym
“a term for something having a different name”
20th Century
English
heteronym
“a word spelled the same as another but pronounced differently and meaning differently”