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Definition
 In
a very general sense, synonyms are different words which
have the same meaning.
Examples
Word |
Synonym |
kingly |
royal |
pavement |
sidewalk |
youth |
youngster |
strong |
powerful |
Use
Strictly
speaking, such words are rarely [if ever] quite identical
to each other.
There
are bound to be semantic, stylistic,
regional, or other differences between them.
It
is often said that if two words do have exactly the same
meaning, one of them is likely to disappear.
Moreover,
two words might be synonymous in one statement, and different in
another.
Synonyms
are usually referred to by linguists as 'near synonyms', because
they argue that no two words mean exactly the same. If they did,
one would probably disappear from use.
English
is a language which has 'borrowed' from many varied sources during
the course of its history. This has created a wide and heterogeneous
lexicon.
For example, terms which were originally French currently coexist
with their Anglo-saxon equivalents:
petite |
small |
tour |
trip |
chauffeur |
driver |
aperitif |
drink |
promenade |
front (as in sea-front) |
escritoire |
desk |
The
French term usually carries a prestige value over that of the English
equivalent, which is often seen as basic and even crass. This is
because of the history of French dominance over the English as
a result of the Norman Conquest.
During
the period of French rule after 1066, a state of diglossia existed
throughout the south of England. Diglossia means that two languages
are used by one society, but applied to two discrete functions.
French was used for matters of church and state, whereas English
was used by the common people for personal and family discourse.
The
legacy of this diglossia is that we have a multitude of synonyms
or near-synonyms at our disposal.
However,
it is usually preferable to state the same idea in a variety of
styles, rather than to repeat one definitive term for one specific
phenomenon.
In
Shakespeare's King Lear, the king confesses to being a 'foolish
fond old man'. The use of two near synonyms has a poetic and dramatic
effect, as one adjective has the effect
of intensifying the other.
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