The Treatment of Homonyms in Dictionaries

In the following essay I will look up the treatment of homonyms in various dictionaries. There are nine selected words analysed in 23 dictionaries. The dictionaries contain monolingual, bilingual, electronic, online and learner's dictionaries. My purpose in this essay is to make a look into the way certain homonyms are treated in certain dictionaries and try to find some kind of an explanation for the way of treatment given by the special dictionaries. To reach this analysis first I will investigate the nature of homonymy throughout definitions and explanations of the term itself. I will also take a look upon the relationship of homonyms, homophones and homographs and of homonyms and polysemes. The essay also contains a brief summary of the question of etymology and the way it is related to homonyms and their treatment in dictionaries however the question of etymology is a recurring line throughout the analysis. The essay also contains a brief summary of the related concepts since these terms help clarify the notion of homonymy and more precisely that of absolute homonymy.egyetemiangol nyelv és irodalo