Confusing Words Clarified Group J

Confusing Words Clarified Group J

http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/4341/?letter=C&spage=21

Polysemy, Polyseme, Polysemes, and Polysemous

(linguistic terms for words with two or more meanings; usually, multiple meanings of a word or words)

Words with Multiple Applications

Polysemy comes from Neo-Latin polysemia, which comes from Greek polusemous [poly- (many) + sema (sign)] giving us a linguistic term, "having many meanings" or multiple meanings. We also have polyseme (singular) [puh LIS uh mee], and polysemes (plural) [puh LIS uh meez].
The words polysemy [puh LIS uh mee or PAWL i see" mee] and polysemous [puh LIS uh muhs or pawl" ee SEE muhs] are defined as "having or characterized by many meanings; the existence of several meanings for a single word or phrase".
As said earlier, these terms refer to "words" or other "items of language with two or more senses"; for example, "walk" as in "The child started to walk" and "They live at 500 High Walk". Such senses may be more or less distant from one another: walk, "action", walk, "street" are relatively close, but crane, "bird" and crane, "machine" are much further apart.
It is generally agreed that in each case only one word is being discussed, not two that happen to have the same form; to which the name homonym is given.
Senses of the same word are seldom ambiguous in context, but the less specific the context, the greater the possibility of ambiguity; for example, if someone who is looking at a picture says "What big cranes!", it may not be immediately clear to anyone who can not see the picture whether the comment refers to birds or machines.

Polysemy and homonymy

There is an extensive doubtful area between the concepts of polysemy and homonymy. A word like "walk" is polysemous (went walking, went for a walk, walk the dog, Hill Walk Drive), while a word like "bank" is homonymous between at least "bank" for money and the "bank" of a river.
The coexistence of several meanings in one word, which is extremely common, as stated earlier, is called polysemy. Some words develop a whole family of meanings, each new meaning often forming yet another starting point for more definitions.
If in a good dictionary you were to look up such words as "natural, good, loose, free", and "real"; you would be surprised at the number of meanings listed.

Being able to distinguish between polysemy words and homonym words is not easy

Dictionaries treat cases of multiple meanings either as polysemy or as homonymy, but in fact it is not always easy to decide which one we are dealing with, and dictionaries sometimes differ in their decisions.
Are "table" (furniture) and "table" (arrangement of data) two different words, or the same word with two meanings? Dictionaries usually go for the latter solution, on the grounds of a shared etymology.
On the other hand, "a pupil" (in school) and the "pupil" (of the eye) are usually listed as different words; although in fact they have the same historical origin.

Would you identify the following variations in the meanings of "up" as polysemy or homonymy?

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other English two-letter word, and it is "up".
It's easy to understand up, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake up?
At a meeting, why does a topic come up? Why do we speak up and why are the officers up for election and why is it up to the secretary to write up a report?
We call up our friends and we use it to brighten up a room, polish up the silver, and we warm up the leftovers and clean up the kitchen. We lock up the house and some guys fix up the old car.
At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir up trouble, line up for tickets, work up an appetite, and think up excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed up is extra special. Another use of up is confusing as a drain must be opened up because it is stopped up.
We open up a store in the morning but we close it up at night. Do you have the impression that we seem to be pretty mixed up about up?
To be knowledgeable of the proper uses of up, look up the word in the dictionary. In a desk size dictionary, the word up, takes up almost 1/4th the page and definitions add up to about thirty.
If you are up to it, you might try building up a list of the many ways up is used. It will take up a lot of your time, but if you don't give up, you may wind up with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding up. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing up. When it rains, it wets up the earth. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry up; as a result, they can even heat up. According to some British speakers and writers, things can even "hot up".
We could go on and on, but I'll wrap it up, because now my time is up; so, I'll shut up.
 

An example of "hot up" was seen at the UK website blog, Digital Home,
in an article titled, "Browser wars hot up with Safari for Windows" by Dean Evans,
dated Monday, June 11, 2007.

jail, gaol; prison, penitentiary
jail (JAYL); British, gaol (JAYL)
1. A place for the confinement of people in lawful detention; especially, those who are awaiting trial under local jurisdiction: "He was locked up in the county jail for driving while drunk."
"She was arrested for drunkenness and spent a night in the city jail."
2. A short-term detaining facility for those waiting trial or for those convicted of minor offenses: "He was kept in the city jail while he was being tried for murder and if convicted, he will be sent to the state prison."
prison; penitentiary (PRIZ uhn; pen" i TEN shuh ree)
A long-term detaining facility for those convicted of major, or more serious crimes: "After spending six months in the city jail during his trial, he was then sentenced to life in the state prison."
"She was sentenced to forty years in a federal penitentiary."
In British English, there is no clear difference between jail and prison; and the word penitentiary is apparently not used in Great Britain.
The alleged criminal was held in the local jail which his British lawyer always referred to as the local gaol while his client was awaiting his trial.
When he was found guilty and sentenced, he was sent to the state penitentiary which his lawyer referred to as a prison.
 
jam; jamb, jambe
jam (JAM)
1. A food usually made from fruit: "She likes to have strawberry jam on her peanut butter sandwiches."
2. A predicament: "Boy! Did she ever get herself into a jam when she missed her bus."
3. A crowd: "Have you ever been caught in the subway jam during the busy hours?"
jamb, jambe (JAM)
An upright surface forming the side of an opening such as a door or window: "He was leaning against the door jamb to watch the children play in the back yard."
 
jealous, zealous
jealous (JEL uhs)
Intolerant of competition; suspicious of unfaithfulness: "My cat was very jealous of the neighbor’s cat which I was taking care of while my neighbor was on vacation."
zealous (ZEL uhs)
Characterized by the passionate or eager pursuit of something: "She was zealous in her pursuit of becoming a fine water-color artist."
 
jinks, jinx
jinks (JINGKS)
Characterized by moving quickly, making sudden turns and twists, dodging: "The get-away car at the bank robbery raced down the street making many jinks to avoid being caught."
jinx (JINGKS)
Something that causes bad luck or misfortune: "Some people say that breaking a mirror will jinx you, bringing you seven years bad luck."
 
jog, jog
jog (JAHG)
1. Verb forms, to run or ride at a steady slow trot: "The coach told the players to jog out to their positions on the playing field."
2. To rouse or to stimulate as if by nudging: "There was an old photo in the album that might jog our mother's memory."
3. Noun forms, a slow run done for exercise: "Some people depend on a morning jog to give them energy for the day."
4. A light shake or push: "She gave him a jog with her elbow to stop him from talking so much."
jog (JAHG)
1. A protruding or receding part in a surface or line: "As we observed the mountains from the valley, we could see one jog after the other as they protruded up and receded down, again and again."
2. An abrupt change in direction: "When we came to a jog in the road, we had to make a sharp turn."
3. To turn sharply; to veer: "This is where the boundary will jog south."
 
At first, jog was a training regimen for athletes, then it became a fad in about 1967.
 
joust, just
joust (JOUST, JUST)
1. A combat between two mounted knights or men-at-arms using lances; a tilting match: "The knight put on his armor as he prepared himself for the joust."
2. To engage in a personal combat or competition: "American football can be described as a joust when the players run into each other, knocking their opponents down."
just (JUST)
1. Honorable and fair in one's dealings and action: "Her Honor, Judge Smith was always just in her decisions at court."
2. Valid within the law; lawful: "The decision by the judge for the man to pay the traffic fine was a just decision."
 
judicial, judicious
judicial (joo DISH uhl)
Relating to a judge, to a legal court system, or to the judiciary: "Judicial ethics should keep a judge, like this one, above suspicion."
judicious (joo DISH uhs)
Showing sound judgment: "His judicious decisions regarding his investments have made him wealthy."
 
juggler, jugular
juggler (JUG luhr)
1. An entertainer who is able to keep several objects in the air at the same time by tossing and catching them from hand to hand: "The juggler at the circus enchanted the children with his skills."
2. Someone who attempts to manipulate situations or individuals for a desired purpose: "The salesman was quite the juggler in trying to convince the man to buy the used car so he could get a commission."
jugular (JUG yuh luhr)
Veins on either side of the neck for returning blood from the head to the heart: "When he was angry, his jugular veins stood out in his neck."
 
junction, juncture
junction (JUNGK shuhn)
An intersection or meeting of roads or railroads: "The town was prosperous when it was a railroad junction."
juncture (JUNGK chuhr)
A point of time made critical by a combination of circumstances: "At this juncture, we must make a final decision as to our future course."
 
jurist, juror
jurist (JOOR ist)
A judge or lawyer: "He was described by his colleagues as an eminent jurist in the area of commercial law."
juror (JOOR uhr, JOOR or")
Member of a body of people sworn to give a legal verdict on a given matter presented in a court of law: "Yesterday, I was selected to be a juror at the trial of the person who had committed fraud."