polysemous

From Medieval Latin polysēmus, from Ancient Greek πολύσημος (polúsēmos), from πολύς (polús, “many”) + σημαίνω (sēmaínō, “I signify, mean”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pəˈlɪs.ɪ.məs/, /ˌpɒl.ɪˈsiː.məs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌpɑːl.iˈsiː.məs/, /pəˈlɪs.ə.məs/

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polysemous (not comparable)

1. (linguistics) Having multiple meanings or interpretations.

   Synonyms: polysemantic, polysemic

   Antonyms: monosemous, univocal

   • 2000, Yael Ravin, Claudia Leacock, Polysemy: Theoretical and Computational Approaches, OUP Oxford (→ISBN), page 52:

     But just how are the meanings associated with a polysemous word related? A look at the entries for polysemous words in different dictionaries shows that lexicographers cannot agree on how to divide up the semantic space […]

• polysemy