Word.ws English Dictionary

phono-semantic matching

phono-semantic matching noun: the borrowing of a word into one language from another which completely or partially preserves both the original sound and meaning but does so via substitution of etymons.

Noun

phono-semantic matching (usually uncountable, plural phono-semantic matchings)

  1. (usually) The borrowing of a word into one language from another which completely or partially preserves both the original sound and meaning but does so via substitution of etymons.

Forms of phono-semantic matching

pluralphono-semantic matchings
alternative initialismPSM

Origin of phono-semantic matching

Coined by Ghil'ad Zuckermann in 1999.

Questions about phono-semantic matching

What does phono-semantic matching mean?
Phono-semantic matching means the borrowing of a word into one language from another which completely or partially preserves both the original sound and meaning but does so via substitution of etymons.
What part of speech is phono-semantic matching?
Phono-semantic matching is a noun.
What is the plural of phono-semantic matching?
The plural of phono-semantic matching is phono-semantic matchings.

Words near phono-semantic matching in the dictionary

  1. phono cartridges
  2. phono-
  3. phono-semantic
  4. phono-semantic compound
  5. phono-semantic compounds
  6. phono-semantic matching
  7. phono-semantic matchings
  8. phonoabsorption
  9. phonoaesthetic
  10. phonoaesthetics
  11. phonoarticulatory

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: phono-semantic matching (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “phono-semantic matching.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/phono-semantic_matching. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.