Meronymy
Encyclopedia
Meronymy is a semantic relation
used in linguistics
. A meronym denotes a constituent part of, or a member of something. That is,
For example, 'finger' is a meronym of 'hand' because a finger is part of a hand. Similarly 'wheel' is a meronym of 'automobile'.
Meronymy is the opposite of holonymy
. A closely related concept is that of mereology
, which specifically deals with part/whole relations and is used in logic
. It is formally expressed in terms of first-order logic
.
A meronym means part of a whole. A word denoting a subset of what another word denotes is a hyponym.
In knowledge representation
languages, meronymy is often expressed as "part-of".
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
used in linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
. A meronym denotes a constituent part of, or a member of something. That is,
- X is a meronym of Y if Xs are parts of Y(s), or
- X is a meronym of Y if Xs are members of Y(s).
For example, 'finger' is a meronym of 'hand' because a finger is part of a hand. Similarly 'wheel' is a meronym of 'automobile'.
Meronymy is the opposite of holonymy
Holonymy
Holonymy is a semantic relation. Holonymy defines the relationship between a term denoting the whole and a term denoting a part of, or a member of, the whole. That is,...
. A closely related concept is that of mereology
Mereology
In philosophy and mathematical logic, mereology treats parts and the wholes they form...
, which specifically deals with part/whole relations and is used in logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
. It is formally expressed in terms of first-order logic
First-order logic
First-order logic is a formal logical system used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. It goes by many names, including: first-order predicate calculus, the lower predicate calculus, quantification theory, and predicate logic...
.
A meronym means part of a whole. A word denoting a subset of what another word denotes is a hyponym.
In knowledge representation
Knowledge representation
Knowledge representation is an area of artificial intelligence research aimed at representing knowledge in symbols to facilitate inferencing from those knowledge elements, creating new elements of knowledge...
languages, meronymy is often expressed as "part-of".