hyponymy (n.)

A term used in SEMANTICS as part of the study of the SENSE relations which relate LEXICAL ITEMS. Hyponymy is the relationship which obtains between specific and general lexical items, such that the former is ‘included’ in the latter (i.e. ‘is a hyponym of’ the latter). For example, cat is a hyponym of animal, flute of instrument, chair of furniture, and so on. In each case, there is a superordinate term (sometimes called a hypernym or hyperonym), with reference to which the subordinate term can be defined, as is the usual practice in dictionary definitions (‘a cat is a type of animal . . .’). The set of terms which are hyponyms of the same superordinate term are co-hyponyms, e.g. flute, clarinet, trumpet. A term which is a hyponym of itself, in that the same lexical item can operate at both superordinate and subordinate levels, is an autohyponym: for example, cow contrasts with horse, at one level, but at a lower level it contrasts with bull (in effect, ‘a cow is a kind of cow’). Hyponymy is distinguished from such other sense relations as SYNONYMY, ANTONYMY and MERONYMY.