英语词汇学6.3Synonymy

expectation: either good or evil. anticipation: as a rule is a pleasurable expectation of something good. hope: is not only a belief but a desire that some event would happen.
7
Sense Relations between Words

-nyms Most wonderful of all are words, and how they …[relate] one with another.
O. Henry, as modified by a semantician
Words are related to one another in a variety of ways. These relationships have words to describe them that often end in the bound morpheme –nym It may be more accurate to think of the lexicon as network, rather than a listing of words as in a published dictionary.
to hope against hope, • to • lose • hope,• to pin one's hopes on sth.•
7.1.2 Patterns of synonymous sets in Modern English
Why so many synonyms? English is a language particularly rich in pairs of synonyms. The primary reason for this has to do with the history of language and especially with the wholesome borrowing from other languages. "The richness of • English • in synonyms is largely due to the happy mingling of Latin, French and Native elements". Generally speaking, the native words are the simplest and most ordinary and tends to belong to the ordinary colloquial language; The Greek or Latin borrowings are the most learned, most formal and most technical and they tend to be used in the most formal context; French borrowings stands between the native words and the Latin and Greek borrowings.

7.1 Synonymy
7.1.1 Definition of synonyms Gk synonymon --- “having the same name” syn--• together+• onuma,• a name . Traditionally: words differing in sound form but identical or • similar • in meaning. But: -- there are • more • polysemic • words • than • monosemic words, and it is inconceivable that a polysemic word could • have • the • same synonymous word for all its meanings. • e.g.•head: chief, boss, leader aptitude, talent He has a good head for history. mind, imagination to use one's head life It cost him his head. top headline, headgear front headlight, headwind
2) The triple scale pattern: Native French ask question fast firm fire flame fear terror goodness virtue holy scared rise mount time age
Latin interrogate secure conflagration trepidation probity consecrated ascend epoch
7.1.3 kinds of synonyms plete synonyms Complete synonyms or absolute or strict synonyms are very rare. Two words are totally synonyms only if they are fully identical• in • meaning • and interchangeable • in • any • context • without • the • slightest • alternation • • in connotative, affective and stylistic meanings. • e.g. fatherland—motherland word-formation--word-building breathed consonant--voiceless consonant scarlet fever – scarlatina caecitis – typhlitis (盲肠炎)
Latin amity aid interior exterior acute universe
In few cases, the native term is more literary than the foreign one: dale valley deed action foe enemy meed reward
(a) In degree of a given quality or in shade of meaning
(Synonyms with different connotation) e.g Small, tiny, diminutive, minute, microscopic, infinitesimal anger: the most general term rage: implies a loss of self control fury: The strongest word in the group, suggests a rage so violent that it may approach madness; indignation: denotes anger based on a moral condemnation of something • felt to be wrong and unfair. wrath: now limited in use to literature and figures of speech, • suggests a strong anger directed at some specific person or is uneconomical; it creates unnecessary redundancy in a language
2. Relative synonyms
Relative synonyms or loose synonyms or more accurately quasisynonymous • words, differ from complete synonyms in the following respects:
-- it seems impossible to speak of identity • or • similarity • of lexical meaning of a word as a • whole,• as • it • is • only • the • denotative meaning that may be said to be identical or similar. • Synonym: " • a word • having • the • same meaning as another word: as one of two or more words of the same language and grammatical category having the same essential or generic meaning • and differing only in connotation, application, or idiomatic use: • one • of • two or more words having essentially identical definition.• .• .• “ e.g.-- experiencing something experience interchangeable under certain conditions undergo
e.g. Tom is easily aroused to anger.
Mad with fury, John pounded his fist on the wall and beat his breast. Mary expressed her indignation at being unfairly dismissed. …the wrath of the gods refuse,• reject, • decline e.g. She decline the chair the judge pushed towards her. The employer refuse to "recognize" the unions. …those who accepted the offer and those who reject it.