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Polysemy Page

Foreword

Polysemy is an English word of Greek origin.  "Poly" means 'many', and "semy" means 'meanings'.  Polysemy is NOT the same a Homonymy.  The word "Homonymy" is a mixture of Latin and Greek.  "Homeo" means 'same' in Latin, and "nym" means 'name' in Greek.

Polyseme is a word with multiple meanings, but all the meanings come from the same etymology.

Homonyms are spelled the same, but have different meanings from totally separate etymologies.

In Dictionaries and Lexicons, all the polysemes are listed under one heading, while the homonyms are listed as separate words.

I hope this page is helpful to somebody.  It is a work in progress.  It is no where near being finished.

Cheers.

(Webmaster)

　

 

Line

"Line" has multiple meanings, but they all come from the same etymology.  Therefore, "line" is a polyseme.

1.  Thread, string, cord, rope, etc.

2.  row of something

3.  long, narrow thing

4.  course of conduct

5.  limit

6.  (a) family line (lineage)

    (b) line of fire

    (c) military line

    (d) naval line

    (e) the front lines (combat forces)

    (f) officers of Navy

    (g) things in order

    (h) line of conveyances

    (i) line of musical notes

    (j) (1) production line (line of people working in production) (2) the people responsible for an organization

    (k) sports line up (players)

7.  long, narrow mark on something

etc....

　

Matrix

Etymology:  > from Greek, meaning: mother, motherhood

1.  [anatomy] (a).  [obsolete] uterus;  (b).  the intercellular tissue which binds cells together;  (c).  a tissue, from which other tissue grows, such as the epithelium

2.  something from which other things originate (earth is the matrix of all life that we know of, or so we think)

3.  something in which other things are embedded (fossils are embedded in some kind of matrix)

4.  (a).  a mold (not fungus, the other mold);  (b) other mold-like things

5.  [metallurgy] the principal alloy

6.  a material in an agglomerate, which is used to bind other materials together, such as cement

7.  [gemology] the original gem stone, before it is cut and polished for jewelry

8.  [botany] the substance on which (or within which) a fungus grows

9.  [mathematics] matrices (a part of algebra)

10.  [color photography] the original photograph, before the dye has been applied

11.  [logic]  a propositional function 

　

In the movie "MATRIX", I believe that "matrix" has multiple meanings:  2, 3, 9.

In the number 2 sense, the MATRIX served as the originator of the false life that people were living.

In the number 3 sense, the MATRIX was a place where the humans were "embedded".

In the number 9 sense, the MATRIX was a computer program, consisting of complex matrices.

So, "MATRIX" is the perfect title for the movie.

　

 

 

Sorry, but that's all for now.

...this page is under construction...