CONTRONYMS
We
all know about synonyms and antonyms. But have you ever heard of contronyms? When
the same word has two meanings that contradict themselves we call them
contronyms. These are ‘two faced’ words and their meanings can be opposite of
each other, or contradictory, depending on the context. Other ways to refer to
a contronym are auto-antonym and antagonym. Contronyms are also sometimes
called Janus words. Janus was an ancient Roman god who had two faces looking in
opposite directions, so the parallel between contronyms and the ancient Roman
deity is pretty apparent. This is the same God in whose name we have the month
of January! Let us look at a few examples of contronyms:
Cleave: This can mean both –
divide and hug tightly. Rudra wielded his axe and cleaved the log into two,
and Young beaver pups cleave to their mother in the
water until they are strong enough to swim on their own.
Sanction: It may either mean to authorize,
approve, or allow as in “My parents wouldn’t sanction video games in our home because they thought they
were too violent” or to penalize as in “The school said they were going to sanction the students for
arriving late to class.”
Left: Harish had already left
the supermarket and drove home when he realized that there’s no milk left
in the fridge. In this sentence, the word left means to “depart” in the first
instance and to “remain” when it appears for the second time. These two
meanings are opposite, which makes the word ‘left’ its own antonym.
Dust: In its verb form,
dust is a clear contronym. It means both “to clean up dust” and to “sprinkle
with powder.” So, you could ask someone to dust the shelves before the arrival
of visitors or to dust the freshly-baked cookies with powdered sugar before
guests arrive.
Custom: There’s a big
difference between a customary dress and a custom dress. The first refers to
the meaning of the word custom as "a practice or tradition shared by a
society or culture, for example, there is a custom to wear traditional headgear
during a Rajput wedding. The second however means "a tailored or unique
garment."
Seed: When you are asked
to seed
a watermelon, you’ve got to pick out the seeds from the fruit. But when someone
tells you that they’re planning to seed tomatoes in their garden this
spring, you know that they will be planting seeds into the soil.
Trim: Trimming your new
pants could either mean cutting them to fit the length of your legs or
embellishing the bottom hems with lace or ribbon. The verb trim could mean both
of these things and so is a contranym.
Finished: “I tipped the vase
over by mistake. It fell, and it’s now finished.” Here finished means
destroyed. But when we say “The potter has been working on this vase for hours,
but it is now finally finished” it means that the job is
done. So in the first instance finished was used for destruction and in the
second instance for construction.
Screen: In “when a new film
will screen
at local cinemas” we are inquiring about - the premiere date. But in “I lost my
hat, so I had to use a book to screen my face from the sun” we are
using it as a barrier.
Clip: If the hedge in your
garden is unruly, you need to clip it with a garden shear, but don’t
reach for scissors if someone wants you to clip a bunch of papers. Your tool of
choice should be a paper clip because you need to fasten the papers together.
But when it comes to clipping the hedges, it’s an entirely different story.
Fast: The word fast has
two opposing meanings. One meaning points to something moving with great speed,
a fast
moving vehicle, whereas the other denotes a static, secure, and steady position,
a glue that holds objects fast and such that dry fast.
Overlook: If there’s one
contronym you shouldn’t overlook, this is it! To overlook is a verb that can
mean both that you missed or failed to consider something and that you
supervise or oversee something or someone. So, when a teacher overlooked a
mistake in a student’s homework, they probably missed it rather than observe it
with great care. And vice versa, the same teacher is responsible for
overlooking the intellectual upbringing of the class.
Weather: A weathered rock is
old and almost disintegrating, but a person who weathered the storm is the
opposite: seasoned, tireless, and unwavering. Therefore, the verb weather has
two opposing meanings - one showing the ability of someone to endure, and the
other pointing to apparent wear and tear. “If you want your home to weather
the rain and snow, replace those old and weathered windows.”
Fine: What’s the
difference between a fine bottle of wine and a bottle of wine that’s just
“fine”? First and foremost, it’s your attitude! That’s because the adjective
fine has the potential to mean both that something’s excellent and simply the
best, and also that it's barely satisfactory. So, when you want to say that
something is of superb quality, it’s best not to use the word fine when
describing it. The risk of being misunderstood is far greater than you think!
Original: This can either mean
ancient or belonging to the beginning or brand new. “Despite being hundreds of years old, the painting was still in its original frame” is the first
expression where as “While sitting in the bathtub, Archmedes was struck with an
original idea” is the second
expression.
Pitted: This can either be marks or
indents like “The sailor’s face was pitted
and craggy from childhood chicken pox” or it can mean having the pit removed
(in the sense of “stone of a fruit”) “My mom reminded me to buy the pitted cherries, because she
didn’t want to take out the stones herself”
Bound: It can either mean tied, fastened or secured with a band or
bond “The Railway Police rushed to save the woman who was bound to the railroad tracks” or it can mean destined as in”
With all his talents he was bound to
succeed.”.
PALINDROMES
The term ‘palindrome’ means that a word, a sentence, or even a number
sounds the same when you read it both forward and backward. Palindromes have a considerable history. The first recorded palindrome
was graffiti found in the Ancient Roman town of Herculaneum from around 70
AD. It read, “Sator Arepo tenet opera rotas,” which can be
translated to, “The sower Arepo holds the wheels with effort.” Ancient
examples of palindromes can also be found in Sanskrit and Greek texts.
Creating a whole sentence that reads the same back and forth is not the easiest of tasks, so not all of these sentences make perfect sense, but that’s what makes them so quirky and funny. So, here they are
1. Sit on a potato pan, Otis
2. Cigar? Toss it in a can. It is so tragic
3. Did Hannah see bees? Hanna did.
4. Murder for a jar of red rum
5. Borrow or rob?
6. Step on no pets
7. Too bad I hid a boot
8. Mr Owl ate my metal worm
9. Was it a car or a cat I saw?
10. Poor Dan is in a droop
11. Taco cat
12. Evil olive
13. Madam
14. Race car
15. Aibohphobia
Incidentally, aibohphobia is fear of palindromes!
I hope you had fun with these contronyms and
Palindromes. The English language has plenty of contronyms, some with
exact opposite meanings and some with nearly opposite ones, but all of them are
interesting, when you come to think about their peculiar use. Palindromes are
being manufactured by language wizards and you need to have an eye for them!
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