Words & WritingGreek → English
Homograph
/ˈhɒməɡrɑːf/noun
A word spelled identically to another but different in meaning, and sometimes in sound.
The Greek roots
ὁμός
homós
same
γράφω
gráphō
to write
Literally: “written the same”
The story of the word
Coined in the nineteenth century alongside homophone, and the pair are constantly confused. Homographs match on the page: lead the metal against lead the verb. Homophones match in the ear. Words that do both, like bank, are homonyms.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
homophonehomogeneousautographparagraph
In a sentence
"Tear" is the homograph that trips up every text-to-speech engine.
Crossword setters live off homographs.