What Is a Polysemy Example?

A polyseme is a word or phrase with different, but related senses. ... English has many polysemous words. For example, the verb "to get" can mean "procure" (I'll get the drinks), "become" (she got scared), "understand" (I get it) etc. In linear or vertical polysemy, one sense of a word is a subset of the other.

What is polysemy give an example?

When a symbol, word, or phrase means many different things, that's called polysemy. The verb "get" is a good example of polysemy — it can mean "procure," "become," or "understand." ... Generally, polysemy is distinguished from simple homonyms (where words sound alike but have different meanings) by etymology.

What are the polysemy words?

A polysemous word is a word that has different meanings that derive from a common origin; a homograph is a word that has different meanings with unrelated origins. Polysemous words and homographs constitute a known problem for language learners.