Hyponymy and hypernymy facts for kids

An example of the relationship between hyponyms and hypernym

A hypernym is an umbrella term or all encompassing term (in Greek υπερνύμιον, literally meaning 'extra name'). "Word A" is a hypernym of "Word B" if A's meaning encompasses the meaning of B, that is, if B is a kind of A.

For example, vehicle denotes all the things that are separately denoted by the words train, chariot, dogsled, airplane, and automobile and is therefore a hypernym of each of those words.

A hypernym is the opposite of a hyponym. For example, plant is hypernymic to flower whereas tulip is hyponymic to flower.

Hypernymy is the semantic relation in which one word is the hypernym of another. Hypernymy, the relation words stand in when their extensions stand in the relation of class to subclass, should not be confused with holonymy which is the relation words stand in when the things that they denote stand in the relation of whole to part. A similar warning applies to hyponymy and meronymy.