Hypernymy (Noun)
Meaning
The semantic relation of being superordinate or belonging to a higher rank or class.
Classification
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas.
Examples
- The term 'vehicle' exhibits hypernymy in relation to 'car', 'truck', and 'bus' as it encompasses all of these concepts.
- Hypernymy is often seen in the hierarchical organization of categories, with 'animal' being a hypernym of 'mammal' and 'bird'.
- The word 'furniture' demonstrates hypernymy by serving as a broad category for items such as 'chairs', 'tables', and 'beds'.
- In linguistic analysis, the concept of hypernymy helps to clarify the relationships between general terms like 'plant' and specific examples like 'tree' or 'flower'.
- Hypernymy plays a crucial role in defining taxonomies, where a general term like 'food' subsumes various categories such as 'fruits', 'vegetables', and 'grains'.