We’ve talked about homophones before on this blog (and you can find more information on them here), and have reviewed homonyms as well, but it’s been a while, and it’s useful to review these terms to keep the differences fresh in your mind. In order to help define these terms, let’s use their etymology – a tool that can help you understand the meaning of words, and also remember the definitions for the future.

As a matter of fact, let’s look up three words: homograph, homophone, and homonym. Obviously, the words share one root in common, the prefix homo-, which comes from the Greek word homos, meaning “the same.” You’ll find the last half of each word in Greek as well:

graphein = “to write”
phone = “sound, voice”
onoma = “name”

By knowing the meaning of the words’ roots, you should be able to easily guess the meaning of each word:

homophone means “sounding the same”
Examples: through (“going from one side to the other”) and threw (past tense of the verb “to throw”)

homograph means “written the same”
Examples: suspect (pronounced SUSS-pekt, “someone believed guilty of wrongdoing”) and suspect (pronounced suss-PEKT, “to have a feeling or idea, but no proof, of something”)

homonym means “named the same”
Examples: sound (an adjective meaning “in good shape, undamaged”), sound (a noun meaning “a narrow body of water between two larger bodies of water”), and sound (a verb meaning “to make noise”)

As you can see, homophones don’t have to be spelled the same, and homographs don’t have to be pronounced the same. However, homonyms must both be spelled and pronounced identically, and have different meanings. In this respect, the idea of having the “same name” is like two people sharing a name – they might both be named Alex, but they’re entirely different individuals.

By combining your research into a word’s etymology, its spelling, its pronunciation, and its definition, you’ll get a well-rounded education in that word, and it will quickly become a useful and permanent part of your vocabulary.