Wiktionary:Semantic relations

There are several different kinds of semantic relations and at least the following ones are relevant to Wiktionary. Terms that are semantically related to a given term can be included both at the term’s page and at a thesaurus page.

Relation	Description	Section
Synonymy	Each listed synonym denotes the same as this entry.	====Synonyms====
Antonymy	Each listed antonym denotes the opposite of this entry.	====Antonyms====
Hypernymy	Each listed hypernym is superordinate to this entry; this entry’s referent is a kind of that denoted by listed hypernym.	====Hypernyms====
Hyponymy	Each listed hyponym is subordinate to this entry; each listed hyponym’s referent is a kind of that denoted by this entry.	====Hyponyms====
Meronymy	Each listed meronym denotes part of this entry’s referent.	====Meronyms====
Holonymy	Each listed holonym has this entry’s referent as a part of itself; this entry’s referent is part of that of each listed holonym.	====Holonyms====
Comeronymy	Each listed comeronym shares this entry's referent as a holonym with another word or phrase.	====Comeronyms====
Troponymy	Each listed troponym denotes a particular way to do this entry’s referent.	====Troponyms====
Parasynonymy	Each listed parasynonym shares similar meanings with this entry's referent in some contexts, but not all.	====Parasynonyms====
Coordinate term	Each listed coordinate term shares a hypernym with this entry.	====Coordinate terms====
Otherwise related	Each listed “otherwise related” term semantically relates to this entry.	====See also====

Synonymy

Definition: Each listed synonym denotes the same as this entry.

The equivalence may be less than perfect (cognitive synonymy) but should pass the practical test that "often when people say X they are referring to a thing that term Y also often refers to"; this may exclude some parasynonyms, but this test allows for some variability in what "not everyone considers to be wholly differentiated."

Properties: symmetric and reflexive

Section: ====Synonyms====

Synonymy is a symmetric and reflexive relation.

Many dictionaries and thesauri use a loose sense of the word synonym that includes anything somewhat close in meaning (including hypernyms, hyponyms, coordinate terms, and parasynonyms). As this page demonstrates, Wiktionary aspires to use a more precise sense of the word synonym, not as strict as cognitive synonymy alone but also not as loose as the traditional hodgepodge that many works use. Thus, for example, hypernyms and hyponyms are best marked as such, not as synonyms. (WordNet is another example of a project that uses this precision.) Use your best judgment about whether to call a term a synonym versus a parasynonym (near-synonym). The result will be close enough, and someone else can easily refine it later if they see a need.

Examples

• comely and attractive are synonyms.
• sick and ill are synonyms.
• pocketable and pocket-sized are synonyms even though some edge cases may exist in which they are differentiable; synonym in a work such as Wiktionary does not imply solely cognitive synonymy.

Layout/formatting

====Synonyms====
* {{l|en|synonym}} <!-- displays language-specific link -->
* [[synonym]] <!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

{{sense|unwell of health}} is useful for disambiguating between synonyms for a partial sense, producing:

(unwell of health):

If a synonym is specific to a single sense, it can be instead listed under the sense’s definition (inline), as the last example in Wiktionary:Entry layout § Synonyms shows. The {{synonyms}} template facilitates it. (Similar templates exist for most other relations as well.)

Antonymy

Definition: Each listed antonym denotes the opposite of this entry.

Properties: symmetric

Section: ====Antonyms====

Template: {{antonyms}}, as an alternative to listing synonyms in a separate section.

• Antonymy is a symmetric relation.

Examples

• up and down are antonyms
• dead and alive are antonyms
• parent and child are antonyms

Words with contrastive force occupy a spectrum, from most contrastive (polar opposite), to almost as much (highly contrastive albeit not polar), to less so (somewhat).

• Some schemas for semantic relations distinguish antonyms from near-antonyms on the basis of complete negation or polar oppositeness versus some slightly less degree of contrastive force. Others lump them together.
  • Words with even less contrastive force (than those aforementioned) are in many cases coordinate terms beneath a shared hypernymic semantic node. For example, sad has an antonym of happy, a near-antonym of satisfied, and a coordinate term of numb.
• Wiktionary currently allows near-antonyms to reside in the antonym section, which is reasonable because (1) the dividing line between antonym and near-antonym, like the dividing line between synonym and near-synonym, is not always a bright line, and (2) for the practical purposes of Wiktionary's users, it is easy enough to understand that the degree of contrast is high, albeit not always maximum, for any words in the antonym list, just as it is easy enough to understand that the degree of similarity is high, albeit not always maximum, for any words in the synonym list.
  • Words that are contrastive to the headword but do not fit well enough into either of the categories of antonyms or coordinate terms can reside at the See also section.

Usage

====Antonyms====
* {{l|en|antonym}} (allows language-specific link)
* [[antonym]] (also acceptable)

Hypernymy and hyponymy

If G is a hypernym of S, then S is a hyponym of G. Hypernymy and hyponymy are transitive relations.

Hypernymy

Definition: Each listed hypernym is superordinate to this entry. This entry’s referent is (one of) the kind(s) of things each hypernym refers to.

Properties: transitive

Section: ====Hypernyms====

Examples

• "animal" is a hypernym of "mammal" (mammals are animals); "mammal" is a hypernym of "dog" (dogs are mammals).
• "plant" is a hypernym of "flower" which is a hypernym of "tulip".
• "red" is a hypernym of "scarlet", "vermilion", "carmine" and "crimson".
• "big" and "large" are hypernyms of "enormous" and "gigantic" (yes, hypernyms, not hyponyms).

Usage

====Hypernyms====
* {{l|en|hypernym}} <!-- displays language-specific link -->
* [[hypernym]] <!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

Hyponymy

Definition: Each listed hyponym is subordinate to this entry. Each hyponym refers to a specific kind of the thing described by this entry.

Properties: transitive

Section: ====Hyponyms====

Examples

• dog is a hyponym of mammal (dogs are among the various animals which are mammals); mammal is a hyponym of animal.
• tulip is a hyponym of flower which is a hyponym of plant.
• scarlet, vermilion, carmine and crimson are hyponyms of red.
• "tiny" and "miniature" are hyponyms of "small".

Usage

====Hyponyms====
* {{l|en|hyponym}} <!-- displays language-specific link -->
* [[hyponym]] <!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

Meronymy and holonymy

If P is a meronym of W, then W is a holonym of P. Meronymy and holonymy are transitive relations.

Meronymy

Definition: Each listed meronym denotes part of this entry’s referent.

Properties: transitive

Section: ====Meronyms====

Examples

• "bark" is a meronym of "tree" (bark is part of what makes up a tree); "tree" is a meronym of "forest".
• "elbow" is a meronym of "arm" which is a meronym of "body".
  • elbow, wrist, and hand are comeronyms (names for the fellow parts of something) under the holonym arm, in the sense of arm that means the entire limb.
• "oxygen" is a meronym of "water", which is a meronym of "soda" (carbonated water or soft drink).

Usage

====Meronyms====
* {{l|en|meronym}} <!-- displays language-specific link -->
* [[meronym]] <!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

Holonymy

Definition: Each listed holonym has this entry’s referent as a part of itself; this entry’s referent is part of each listed holonym.

Properties: transitive

Section: ====Holonyms====

Examples

• "forest" is a holonym of "tree" (forests contain trees); "tree" is a holonym of "bark".
• "body" is a holonym of "arm", which is a holonym of "elbow".
• "soda" (carbonated water or soft drink) is a holonym of "water", which is a holonym of "oxygen".

Usage

====Holonyms====
* {{l|en|holonym}} <!-- displays language-specific link -->
* [[holonym]] <!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

Troponymy

Definition: Each listed troponym denotes a particular way to do this entry’s referent.

Properties: transitive

Section: ====Troponyms====

Troponymy is a transitive relation.

Examples

• to trim and to slice are troponyms of to cut
• to slide and to spin are troponyms of to move
• to snack and to nibble are troponyms of to eat

Usage

====Troponyms====
* {{l|en|troponym}} (allows language-specific link)
* [[troponym]] (also acceptable)

Coordinate term

Definition: Each listed coordinate term shares a hypernym with this entry. Coordinate terms name the various fellow kinds of a thing. They are thus also called cohyponyms.

Properties: symmetric and reflexive

Section: ====Coordinate terms====

Template: {{coordinate terms}}, as an alternative to listing coordinate terms in a separate section.

Most coordinate terms should not be added to this section. They should be added to categories instead. Only words that don’t belong in any other sections and are strongly related should be here. In other words, this section is only for the cardinal ones, not for an exhaustive list of all the ones that exist.

Examples

• man and woman are coordinate terms since they share various hypernyms, from the most obvious (for example, human, person, adult) to others (for example, vertebrate, mammal, resident)
• Frenchman and Englishman are coordinate terms since they share various hypernyms, from the most obvious (for example, human, nationality, person) to others (for example, vertebrate, mammal, resident)
• cat and dog are coordinate terms since they share several hypernyms, including pet, animal, mammal, and vertebrate
• maple, pine, and walnut (in the senses of those words referring to kinds of tree) are fellow kinds of trees; they share the hypernym tree, which in turn has a hypernym plant, which in turn has a hypernym organism.

Usage

[[Category:Category of shared hypernym]]

or

====Coordinate terms====
* {{l|en|coordinate term}} (allows language-specific link)
* [[coordinate term]] (also acceptable)

Otherwise related

Definition: Each listed “otherwise related” term semantically relates to this entry.

Section: ====See also====

If the semantic relation is none of the above (such as, for example, plesionymic, such that it is partially overlapping on a semantic field but with important distinctions), or if you don't know exactly how a word is semantically related to the word defined by the entry you are editing, please add it to this section. However, since almost all words are semantically related to each other on some (sufficiently remote) abstract level, please use your own judgement on whether somebody possibly would find it useful.

A representative example of a pair of words whose semantic relation to each other is clear and is relevant, but they are not synonymous (or synonymous only in the loosest sense of that term), is nonexpert and amateur: usually the two concepts are coinstantiated, which makes them clearly and relevantly semantically related, but the other instances in which they are not coinstantiated, and their perennial potential not to be coinstantiated, have practical importance, so it is reasonable not to call them synonyms but rather to place them in "see also" position.

Other relevant pages on Wiktionary can also be linked here, such as appendices and categories.

Note: For any links to external sites, including sister projects like Wikipedia, use the section ====Further reading==== (see this vote).

Usage

====See also====
* {{l|en|related term}} <!-- displays language-specific link -->
* [[related term]] <!-- displays non-language-specific link, but also acceptable -->

Note that for etymologically related words (in the same language), the header ====Related terms==== should be used – see Wiktionary:Etymology.

See also

• Wiktionary:Related terms (etymologically related; often but not necessarily also semantically related)
• Wiktionary:Thesaurus
• Wiktionary:Entry layout
  • Wiktionary:Sample entry
• Wiktionary:Forms and spellings