What the Heck is a Polyseme?

What does 'polysemy' mean?

Polysemy is an English word of Greek origin. "Poly" means 'many', and "semy" means 'meanings'.

What is the difference between polyseme and homonym?

Polyseme is a word with multiple meanings, but all the meanings come from the same etymology.

Homonyms are spelled the same, but have different meanings from totally separate etymologies.

NOTE: In Dictionaries and Lexicons, all the polysemes are listed under one heading, while the homonyms are listed as separate words.

I hope this page is helpful to somebody. It is a work in progress. It is no where near being finished.

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Polyseme	Meanings	Sample sentences
Matrix (etymology)	Greek, meaning: "mother"	X
Matrix (1a) [anatomy]	[obsolete] uterus	(obsolete means it is not used any more)
Matrix (1b) [anatomy]	the intercellular tissue that binds cells together	The cells of the body are held together by a matrix.
Matrix (1c) [anatomy]	a tissue from which other tissue grows	The epithelium is a matrix.
Matrix (2)	something from which other things originate	Gaia is the matrix of all living things.
Matrix (3)	something in which other things are embedded	The fossil is in a matrix of limestone.
Matrix (4)	a mold (for making things)	Put the plaster in the matrix.
Matrix (5) [metallurgy]	The main metal in an alloy.	Iron is the matrix of steel.
Matrix (6)	a material in an agglomerate, which is used to bind other materials together, such as cement	Cement is the matrix of concrete.
Matrix (7) [gemology]	the original gem stone, before it is cut and polished for jewelry	He cut the diamond from the matrix.
Matrix (8) [botany]	the substance on which (or within which) a fungus grows	The orange peel was the matrix for the penicillin.
Matrix (9) [math]	matrices (a part of algebra)	I never understood matrices in my algebra class.
Matrix (10) [photography]	the original photograph, before the dye has been applied	?
Matrix (11) [logic]	a propositional function	?
Polyseme	Meanings	Sample sentences
Line (1)	Thread, string, cord, or rope	Hold on to the line!
Line (2)	A row of something (or people) Synonym: queue	Please don't cut in the line!
Line (3)	A long, narrow thing	There is a line in the crust of the earth. It is called a 'fault line'.
Line (4)	Course of conduct (behaviour)	If you 'get out of line', you will be kicked out of the school.
Line (5)	Limit	Don't 'cross the line', or else you will be in trouble!
Line (6a)	family line Synonym: lineage	My family line goes back to Poland.
Line (6b)	line of fire	When I yell, "Fire your weapons," don't walk into the line of fire.
Line (6c)	military line	?
Line (6d)	naval line	?
Line (6e)	the front lines	King David sent Uriah to the front lines so that he would be killed in battle, and then King David could marry Uriah's wife.
Line (6f)	officers of the navy	?
Line (6g)	things in order	I have all my ducks in a row (line).
Line (6h)	line of conveyances (vehicles)	There is a line of traffic for ten kilometres.
Line (6i)	line of musical notes	a line, b line, c line, d line, e line, f line, g line
Line (6j)	(1) production line	There are ten people working on that production line.
Line (6j)	(2) people responsible for an organization	?
Line (6k)	sports line up (players)	I was number 4 in the batting line up.
Line (7)	long, narrow mark on something	Draw a line on your paper.
Polyseme	Meanings	Sample sentences
Plant (1)	any member of the plant kingdom, having a cell wall and chlorophyll	We planted a plant in the garden.
Plant (2)	a factory	Radiation is leaking from the power plant.

In the number 2 sense, the MATRIX served as the originator of the false life that people were living.

In the number 9 sense, the MATRIX was a computer program, consisting of complex matrices.