A Classification of Words

Authors

Maxey Brooke

Abstract

One of the pleasures of the logologist is investigating the relations between pairs of words. Words can be characterized in four ways: spelling (or appearance), sound (or pronunciation), meaning (or definition), and origin (or derivation). Two words can be either identical or different with respect to each of these properties; thus, there are 16 different ways in which word-pairs can be classified, ranging from identical in all four respects to different in all four respects. The 14 intermediate cases, those in which a pair of words are identical in some respects but differ in others, are the ones of most interest to the logologist.

Recommended Citation

Brooke, Maxey (1975) "A Classification of Words," Word Ways: Vol. 8 : Iss. 3 , Article 14.
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/wordways/vol8/iss3/14