Homonyms
a) Definition When several related meanings are associated with the same group of sounds within the same part of speech, me word is called polysemantic, when two or more unrelated meanings are associated with the same form the words are homonyms.., For example, the word. tattoo (the designs made on skin) and the word tattoo meaning 'drum beating, especially played as a military signal' are two entirety different words with entirely different origins. The skin design kind of tattoo came from the South Pacific, where tatau. in the Polynesian word for this sort of ritual marking. The word was imported into English by 18th century sailors together with the exotic practice. The other sort of tattoo, which originally meant a drum beat used to recall soldiers to their quarters at the close of day, comes from the Dutch word taptoe which meant 'to close the tap of a cask of wine or beer, as at closing time in a tavern.' Imported into English as 'tattoo', it was originally used to mean 'drum beat at the end of day,' but was eventually expanded to include any sort of drum-heavy performance of military music. Two or more words identical in sound and spelling but different in meaning and distribution are called homonyms. The term is derived from Greek homos -- the same, and onoma - name. llomonymy exist in many languages, bur in English it is particularly
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