hypernym · noun — A superordinate word or phrase; a term whose referents form a set which includes as a subset the referents of a subordinate term—as, for example, insect (being a hypernym) for ant.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
hypernym is pronounced /ˈhaɪpənɪm/.
Why “hypernym” is a great word
A word whose meaning encompasses the meanings of more specific, subordinate words, as 'animal' does for 'dog'. From the Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hyper, "over, above") and ὄνυμα (onyma, "name"), the term was first attested in 1971 in the writing of S. G. J. Hervey. Unlike "hyponym" (which refers to the specific, subordinate member of a category, as 'rose' in relation to 'flower') or "synonym" (which denotes a word with a meaning identical or very similar to another, as 'big' and 'large'), a hypernym is the overarching, sheltering term. It is the warm, broad palm of 'furniture' resting over the particular grain of a chair, the genus containing every distinct species, the unseen ceiling under which language sorts its world into families of meaning—the quiet, grammatical acknowledgement that our world is built of hierarchies, one thing nestled safely inside another.
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Etymology
From hyper- (“over”) + -nym (“name”). From Ancient Greek roots; compare Latinate “superordinate term”.
noun
- A superordinate word or phrase; a term whose referents form a set which includes as a subset the referents of a subordinate term—as, for example, insect (being a hypernym) for ant.e.g.““Musical instrument” is a hypernym of “guitar” because a guitar is a musical instrument: a guitar belongs to a class or type of musical instruments.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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