Synonyms

"a widespread impression that... Hollywood was synonymous with immorality" ([|Doris Kearns Goodwin]) Synonyms can be any [|part of speech] (such as [|nouns], [|verbs], [|adjectives], [|adverbs] or [|prepositions]), as long as both members of the pair are the same part of speech. Here are more examples of English synonyms: Note that synonyms are defined with respect to certain senses of words; for instance, //pupil// as the //"aperture in the iris of the eye"// is not synonymous with //student//. Similarly, //he expired// means the same as //he died//, yet //my passport has expired// cannot be replaced by //my passport has died//. In English, many synonyms evolved from the parallel use, in the early medieval period, of [|Norman French] (from Latin) and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) words, often with some words being used principally by the [|Saxon] peasantry (//"folk"//, //"freedom"//, //"bowman"//) and their synonyms by the Norman nobility (//"people"//, //"liberty"//, //"archer"//). Some [|lexicographers] claim that no synonyms have exactly the same meaning (in all contexts or social levels of language) because [|etymology], [|orthography], [|phonic] qualities, ambiguous meanings, usage, etc. make them unique. Different words that are similar in meaning usually differ for a reason: //feline// is more formal than //cat//; //long// and //extended// are only synonyms in one usage and not in others (for example, a //long arm// is not the same as an //extended arm//). Synonyms are also a source of [|euphemisms]. The purpose of a [|thesaurus] is to offer the user a listing of similar or related words; these are often, but not always, synonyms.
 * Synonyms** are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be **synonymous**, and the state of being a synonym is called **synonymy**. The word comes from [|Ancient Greek] //syn// ([|σύν]) ("with") and //onoma// ([|ὄνομα]) ("name"). The words //car// and //automobile//are synonyms. Similarly, if we talk about a //long time// or an //extended time//, //long// and //extended// become synonyms. In the figurative sense, two words are often said to be synonymous if they have the same connotation:
 * verb
 * "buy" and "purchase"
 * adjective
 * "sick" and "ill"
 * adverb
 * "quickly" and "speedily"
 * preposition
 * "on" and "upon"