4 ms·
This comment confused me so I looked up the definition of homophone[0]. Turns out it can mean two words sounding the same (definition 2) or merely sounding ali
by crackedbassoon 4y ago
This comment confused me so I looked up the definition of homophone[0].
Turns out it can mean two words sounding the same (definition 2) or merely sounding alike (definition 1). Personally I always thought homophones had to sound identical. But you are right, they are homophones in the broad sense.
I think they have the same root [1].
[0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homophone https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homophone
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/usage-of-conscience-vs-conscious https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/usage-of-consc...
- bena 4y agoAny difference quickly disappears once you take into account various accents and dialects. It's a lot like pin and pen. They're technically not by the strictest sense of the word homophones because there should be a slight difference in how you pronounce them, but in practice, there is no difference.