Glossary:Meronymy
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Meronymy
/məˈrɒnəmi/
Definition
Meronymy explains a part-whole relation. It refers to terms for parts of real objects.
Comment:
A pit is a part of a cherry just like wheels and saddle are parts of a bike. Thus, one can call a pit a meronymy to a cherry as well as wheels and a saddle are meronyms to a bike. Do not mix up with hyponym and hyperonym which also refer to a hierarchical relationship of vocabularies (e.g. vegetables-potato).
Examples
pit - cherry
wheels, saddle - bike
finger - hand
Related terms
Back to the glossary.
References and links
- online grammar
- Free Oxford Dictionary includes phonetic transcription of words
Literature
Bieswanger, Becker (2008). Introduction to English Linguistics. Tübingen: A.Francke.