Janus words

[ctivnan]

Have you ever encountered a word that has two opposite meanings? :fishin:

I have and it was even while teaching. My student wanted to clarify the meaning of "sanction" and as far as I knew it only meant "a penalty for disobeying laws;" but much to my surprise it was used in an opposite way in the article he showed me! As a result, we consulted our "bestfriend" -- the dictionary. From this point, I wanted to learn more about such words that have, illogically, have two opposite meanings!

http://english-coffee.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=949&stc=1&d=1278986645


Words like "sanction," "screen," "custom," etc. are known to be JANUS words. They are named after the Greek mythology god Janus, who has two faces that look in the opposite directions. These words are also know as:

AMPHIBOLOUS
AUTO-ANTONYMS
SELF-ANTONYMS
CONTRONYMS


But, I think I'll just stick to the reference JANUS.

Here is a list of some Janus words from about.com:



To weather can mean "to endure" or "to erode."


Sanction can mean "to allow" or "to prohibit."


Fix can mean "a solution" (as in "find a quick fix") or "a problem" ("left us in a fix").


Clip can mean "to separate" (as in "clip the coupon from the paper") or "to join" (as in "clip the answer sheets together").


Left as a verb in the past tense means "to have gone"; as an adjective, it means "remaining."


Wear can mean "to last under use" or "to erode under use."


Buckle can mean "to fasten" or "to bend and then break."


The verb bolt can mean "to secure, lock" or "to start suddenly and run away."


Screen can mean "to conceal" or "to show."


To table a bill means in British English "to put a bill up for debate" but in American English "to remove a bill from debate."


Fast can mean "moving quickly" (as in "running fast") or "not moving" (as in "stuck fast").



If you know more, post away, so we may enjoy learning more Janus words and do away (at least lessen) our confusion! :hihihi:

References:
Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus
About.com (http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/Januswordterm.htm)
Seth Teller's Self-antonyms (http://people.csail.mit.edu/seth/misc/selfantonyms.html)
Janus' Pic (http://www.cathyyip.com)

[q_sharon]

Good post. :thanks: for this. :gud:

[q_sharon]

:itshere:


I will try to add some more:

before
(1) in advance of ("the future is before us") (2) at an earlier time, previously ("our forefathers came before us")


cleave
This is a homophone, where two words, spelled and pronounced alike, have different origins. (1) "To adhere firmly", from Old English clifian. (2) to split (as with a cleaver), from Old English cleofan

confessor
Normally refers to someone (such as a priest) who hears a confession, but could also mean one who makes it

critical
Can mean "vital to success" (a critical component), or "disparaging" (a critical comment)

custom
As a noun, this means "conventional behavior"; but as an adjective, it means "specially designed".

dust
In "to dust furniture", this verb means "to remove dust from", but in "to dust a room for fingerprints" and "the streets were dusted with snow", it means "to apply dust to

either
As an adjective, it can mean "one or the other of two," as in "you either passed or failed your test". It can also mean "each of two; the one and the other" as in "there are trees on either side of the river."

garnish
With food, the verb means "to add to"; with wages, it means "to take from". (Strictly speaking, though, the intention of the latter is to mean something added to the charges against the wages, alongside insurance, taxes, etc.)


UsingEnglish.com

[gAn]

Thanks, ctivnan! Thanks, Sis!

:thanks:

English, I think, is the most difficult language. There are so many exceptions...so many irregulars...so many confusing items.

:confused: