Word of the Day: Contronym

Published on September 8, 2004 By Melinda Stanners In Misc

Contronyms are words that are their own antonym, ie cleave = to separate AND to adhere.

Just thought I'd share.

Comments

on Sep 08, 2004

'Cleave' is splendid - dare I say it, it's a cracker. There are actually two quite separate derivations - the former meaning via Old English 'cleofan', and the latter via Old English 'clifian'. So in a sense it's two distinct words that just happen to be spelled and pronounced identically at this point in the development of the language.

What about others? 'United' is NEARLY a contronym, but only if you mistype it 'untied'.

The nearest I can get to identifying one is 'prove' or 'proof', which - in common parlance, if not in certain scientific circles - no longer means what it once did, which is 'to test'. ie. Historically, a proof demonstrated that a hypothesis was right OR WRONG. It is only through an appreciation of this former meaning that the notion of 'the exception that proves the rule' makes any sense whatsoever. ie. A proof might very well involve a hypothesis being demonstrated as FALSE.

But I have to admit it's not a contronym!

So, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, Melinda, but do you know any others?

Melinda Stanners

on Sep 08, 2004

I will confess to cheating and Googling for more

I beg your forgiveness, but I have provided more contronyms for your entertainment and edification.

I will warn you that some of them are reaching a little to be accepted as contronyms, the link is a little weak, but here you go, courtesy of Seth Teller: http://graphics.lcs.mit.edu/~seth/misc/selfantonyms.html

sanction means "to allow" and "to prohibit (or punish)"

clip means "to attach" and "to separate" (sure looks like clip is a cognate of cleave, doesn't it?)

inoculate means "to protect against" and "to infect with"

cull means "to select" and "to reject"

alight means "to settle onto" and "to dismount from"

went off means "to start" and "to stop" (the alarm ~ when the light ~)

fix means "a solution" and "a problem" (also fixed)

ravel means "to entangle" and "to disentangle" (as does unravel!)
[contributed by Tamara Munzner]

screen means "to display" (~ a movie) and "to hide" (~ his view)
[contributed by Krishnan Sriram]

protest means "to object" and "to affirm" (also, protestations)
[contributed by Ron Slavecki]

cork means "to take out" and "to insert" a cork from a bottle
[contributed by David Miller]

oversight means a kind of error, and a kind of prevention from error
[contributed by Matt Ross]

trim means "to remove from" (~ the tree) and "to add to" (~ the Christmas tree)
[contributed by Dick Stadler]

enjoin means "to direct" and "to forbid"

[contributed by Jonathan King]

dust means "to remove from" (~ the table) and "to add to" (~ the cake)

[contributed by Susan Ramage]

secrete: means "to give off" and "to conceal" [contributed by Matt Antone]

rent: means "to grant possession in exchange for rent" and "to take and hold under an agreement to pay rent" [contributed by Matt Antone]

can means "to save" (~ the peaches) and "to discard" (~ the worker)

[contributed by Sylvia Briggs]

Although this latter one is relying on slang and not true language. It depends on your point of view about slang as to whether you accept it as a true contronym.

Kate Curtis-Mclane contributed a whole pile of self-antonyms:

settle means "to move" (the pile ~d) and "to stop moving" (we ~d in)

flesh means "to add substance (~ out)" to and "to clean a hide of flesh"

seed means "to put seeds in" and "to take seeds out"

garnish means "to add something to" or "to take away from (a form of ~ee)"

root means "to get something to take root" or "to pull up (root out)"

joint means "to combine or attach with a joint" and "to separate (esp. meat) at a joint"

snap means "to break into pieces" and "to fasten together"

tube means "to insert a tube in" and "to enclose in a tube"

reel means "to wind onto" and "to let out from"

lease means "to pay for use" and "to be paid for use"

water means "to pour water out" and "to take on water"

wear means "to last under use" and "to erode under use"

weather means "to disintegrate or wear" and "to come through safely, survive"

crop means "to plant or grow" and "to cut or harvest"

Angloesque

on Sep 08, 2004

I tried googlewhacking with "contronym" but dictionary.com didn't like it.

Melinda Stanners

on Sep 08, 2004

That's pretty disappointing, actually, because dictionary.com is so much easier to update thana print book. Perhaps I should write to them and suggest an entry be put in. The site is great for common words, but when you try something a little unusual, I've found in the past that it's a bit hit and miss as to whether it has a definition listed.

Melinda Stanners

on Sep 08, 2004

There, I sent them an email telling them about it.

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