Polysemy Totally Explained

Everything about Polysemy totally explained

Polysemy ([pəˈlɪsəmɪ] or [ˈpɒlɪˌsɛmɪ]) (from the Greek πολυσημεία = "multiple meaning") is the capacity for a sign (for example a word, phrase, etc.) or signs to have multiple meanings (sememes, for example a large semantic field). This is a pivotal concept within social sciences, such as media studies and linguistics.

Polysemes

A polyseme is a word or phrase with multiple, related meanings. A word is judged to be polysemous if it has two senses of the word whose meanings are related. Since the vague concept of relatedness is the test for polysemy, judgments of polysemy can be very difficult to make. Because applying pre-existing words to new situations is a natural process of language change, looking at words' etymology is helpful in determining polysemy but not the only solution; as words become lost in etymology, what once was a useful distinction of meaning may no longer be so. Some apparently unrelated words share a common historical origin, however, so etymology isn't an infallible test for polysemy, and dictionary writers also often defer to speakers' intuitions to judge polysemy in cases where it contradicts etymology. English has many words which are polysemous. For example the verb "to get" can mean "take" (I'll get the drinks), "become" (she got scared), "have" (I've got three dollars), "understand" (I get it) etc.
   There are several tests for polysemy, but one of them is zeugma: if one word seems to exhibit zeugma when applied in different contexts, it's likely that the contexts bring out different polysemes of the same word. If the two senses of the same word don't seem to fit, yet seem related, then it's likely that they're polysemous. The fact that this test again depends on speakers' judgments about relatedness, however, means that this test for polysemy isn't infallible, but is rather merely a helpful conceptual aid.
   The difference between homonyms and polysemes is subtle. Lexicographers define polysemes within a single dictionary lemma, numbering different meanings, while homonyms are treated in separate lemmata. Semantic shift can separate a polysemous word into separate homonyms. For example, check as in "bank check" (or Cheque), check in chess, and check meaning "verification" are considered homonyms, while they originated as a single word derived from chess in the 14th century.
   For Dick Hebdige polysemy means that, "each text is seen to generate a potentially infinite range of meanings," making, according to Richard Middleton, "any homology, out of the most heterogeneous materials, possible. The idea of signifying practice — texts not as communicating or expressing a pre-existing meaning but as 'positioning subjects' within a process of semiosis — changes the whole basis of creating social meaning".

Examples

Mole
a small burrowing mammal
consequently, there are several different entities called moles (see the Mole disambiguation page). Although these refer to different things, their names derive from 1. :for example A Mole burrows for information hoping to go undetected.

Bank

a financial institution

the building where a financial institution offers services

a synonym for 'rely upon' (for example "I'm your friend, you can bank on me"). It is different, but related, as it derives from the theme of security initiated by 1 ť However: a river bank is a homonym to 1 and 2, as they don't share etymologies. It is a completely different meaning. River bed, though, is polysemous with the beds on which people sleep.

Book

a bound collection of pages

a text reproduced and distributed (thus, someone who has read the same text on a computer has read the same book as someone who had the actual paper volume)

Milk

The verb milk (for example "he's milking it for all he can get") derives from the process of obtaining milk.

Wood

a piece of a tree

a geographical area with many treesFurther Information

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