Difference between revisions of "Br wking VIII"

Latest revision as of 17:12, 15 January 2019

This category holds the homophones listed as sub-list ‘’’VIII’’’ printed by the then Poet Laureate Robert Bridges in the second "TRACT" of the Society for Pure English (London, OUP, 1919). List VIII is headed “'False homophones [see p. 4], doubtful doublets, &c" ”. The note on p. 4 in essence points out that etymological nicety may disqualify some like-sounding words as proper homophones on the grounds that they are actually different derivations from an identical root. Equally, it appears to AWE (if not spelled out in the text), some words are not 'proper' doublets on the grounds that they are actually too close to be differentiated.

As these are 'false', and largely accidents of language, AWE only presents them as a list, in the hopes that it may be of interest to users curious about language, and the history of the study of language. AWE does not intend to write separate articles about each member of the list, unlike most of the other lists in Bridges homophones, although some items have attracted our attention.

beam - beam (of light)

bit (horse) - bit (piece) - bit (fr. bite|)

brace - brace

diet - diet

deck (cover) - deck (adorn)

deal (various)

dram (drink) - drachm

drone (insect) - drone (sound)

jest - gest (romance, and obs. senses)

jib (sail) - jib (of horses)

fine (adj., var. senses) - fine ( mulct)

flower - flour

fleet (noun) - fleet (adj.) - Fleet (stream)

grain (corn) - grain (fibre)

indite - indict

incense (v. = cense) - incense (incite)

kind (adj.) - kind (noun)

cuff (sleeve) - cuff (strike)

cousin - cozen

cord - chord (music)

coin - coign

cotton (noun) - cotton (verb)

crank (noun) - crank (adj.)

quaver (verb) - quaver (music)

levy - levee

litter (brood) - litter (straw)

mantle (cloak) - mantle (shelf)

mess (confusion) - mess(table)

mussel - muscle

nail (unguis) - nail (clavis)

patent (open) - patent (monopoly)

pommel (noun) - pummel (verb)

refrain (verb) - refrain (noun, in verse)

retort (reply) - retort (chemical vessel)

second (number) - second (of time)

squall (verb) - squall (a gale)

slab (noun) - slab (adjective)

smart (noun and verb, sting) - smart (adjective)

stave (of barrel) - stave (of music) - [stave in (verb))

stick (noun) - stick (verb)

stock (stone) - stock (in trade, etc)

strut (a supporft) - strut (to walk)

share (division) - share (plough)

sheet (sail and clew) - sheet (anchor) [+ bedclothes,etc]

shear (clip) - sheer (clear) - sheer off (deviate)

tack (various) - tack (naut.)

ton - tun

wage (earnings) - wage (of war)