If you’ve spoken English as a first language your entire life, you probably take it for granted.
And, if you take it for granted, you probably haven’t stopped to think about just how weird it actually is.
English is made of Old English, Danish, Norse, and French, and has been changed by Latin, Greek, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Dutch and Spanish, and some words from other languages.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, all considered, that it sometimes leaves second-language speakers feeling a little confused.
Contronyms, in particular, are so reliant on context that they’ll do your head in if you aren’t familiar with them.
A contronym, often referred to as a Janus word or auto-antonym, is a word that evokes contradictory or reverse meanings depending on the context.
Specifically, a contronym is a word with a homonym (another word with the same spelling but different meaning) that is also an antonym (a word with the opposite meaning).
Business Insider put together a list of some of the more confusing ones:
- Clip – To “clip” can mean to cut apart or to attach together.
Example:
They clipped the hedge.
They clipped the pages together.
- Weather – To wear away or to withstand
Example:
The rock was weathered.
He weathered the storm.
- Dust – To “dust” can mean to remove dust or to sprinkle something with a powder.
Example:
He dusted the shelf.
She dusted the cake with icing sugar.
- Consult – To seek advice or to give professional advice.
Example:
He decided to consult on the matter and give his advice.
He decided to consult a friend before making a decision.
- Refrain – A “refrain” can mean a repeating phrase or verse in a song or poem, while in verb form it can mean to stop doing something.
Example:
She sang a refrain from a song.
Please refrain from singing that song.
- Leave – To “leave” can mean to depart or to leave something behind.
Example:
I am leaving on a jet plane.
I plan to leave my worries behind.
- Sanction – To approve or boycott
Example:
I sanction your decision to boycott.
They called on the president to level further sanctions on nuclear weapons.
- Transparent – Can mean ‘invisible’ or ‘obvious’
Example:
The invisible man was transparent.
It was transparent that he was lying.
And that’s all for today, folks.
Now go forth and confuse your friends at your next gathering.
[source:businessinsider]
