What is a hyponym?
Q: What is a hyponym?
A: A hyponym is a word that can be changed with a different and less precise word without changing the overall meaning of the phrase.
Q: What is its hypernym, hypernym or superordinate term?
A: The different word that replaces the hyponym is its hypernym, hypernym or superordinate term.
Q: How does Hyponymy work?
A: Hyponymy is a relation to a more generic word. A hyponym can be part of a group of words on a similar level that can all be replaced by the same hypernym.
Q: Can you give an example?
A: For example, pigeon, crow, eagle and seagull are all hyponyms (co-hyponyms) of bird (their hypernym). In turn, bird is a hyponym of animal. In a sentence such as 'The pigeon is flying over the church.', it is possible to change the word pigeon to bird or animal without changing the overall meaning of the sentence. This is because pigeon is a hyponym of both bird and animal.
Q: What other names are given to Hypernyms?
A: Hypernyms are sometimes also called umbrella terms or blanket terms.
Q: Where do these words come from?
A: The word Hyponym comes from the Greek hupó, "under" and ónoma, "name". Hypernym comes from the Greek hupér, "over" and ónoma, "name".
Q: Can phrases also be considered Hyponyms?
A: Yes, A hyponym can also sometimes be a phrase.
