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Pun vs Homophone - What's the difference?

pun | homophone |

As nouns the difference between pun and homophone

is that pun is a joke or type of wordplay in which similar senses or sounds of two words or phrases, or different senses of the same word, are deliberately confused while homophone is a word which is pronounced the same as another word but differs in spelling or meaning or origin, for example: carat, caret, carrot, and karat.

As a verb pun

is to beat; strike with force; ram; pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder.

pun

English

(wikipedia pun)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) . More at (l).

Verb

  • To beat; strike with force; ram; pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder.
  • * Shakespeare
    • He would pun thee into shivers with his fist.

    Etymology 2

    From a special use of Etymology 1 .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A joke or type of wordplay in which similar senses or sounds of two words or phrases, or different senses of the same word, are deliberately confused.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , title=(Mansfield Park) , last=Austen , first=Jane , authorlink=Jane Austen , year=1814 citation , volume=one, chapter VI , publisher= }}
    "Certainly, my home at my uncle's brought me acquainted with a circle of admirals. Of Rears'' and ''Vices I saw enough. Now do not be suspecting me of a pun , I entreat."
  • *:Comment : Austen was likely referring to spanking/flogging, then common naval punishments, known as (le vice Anglais) .
    • Usage notes
    * Because some puns are based on pronunciation, puns are more obvious when spoken aloud. For example: “This rock is gneiss, but don’t take it for granite.” This reads (with a US accent) similarly to “This rock is nice, but don’t take it for granted.” (Both “gneiss” and “granite” are types of rock.)
    Synonyms
    * See also

    Verb

  • To make or tell a pun; make a play on words.
    • We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.
    See also
    * antanaclasis * paronomasia

    Anagrams

    * ----

    homophone

    English

    (wikipedia homophone)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A word which is pronounced the same as another word but differs in spelling or'' meaning ''or origin, for example: carat, caret, carrot, and karat.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homophonehttp://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/homophone?view=uk
  • A letter or group of letters which are pronounced the same as another letter or group of letters.

    • Related terms

    * homophonous (adjective)

    Usage notes

    A homophone is a type of homonym in the loose sense of that term (a word which sounds or'' is spelled the same as another). (The strict sense of ''homonym is a word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word.) A homograph is a word with the same spelling as another but a completely unrelated meaning. Homographs are not necessarily homophones.

    References

    See also

    (en) * ----