Is 'heterological' heterological?
Autological words are those which describe themselves, like 'polysyllabic' or 'common'. The opposite of this is heterological. So, is 'heterological' autological or heterological? Which is it?
Autological words are those which describe themselves, like 'polysyllabic' or 'common'. The opposite of this is heterological. So, is 'heterological' autological or heterological? Which is it?
Bob Lablaw
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There is no logical answer. If heterological describes itself then it is autological. But if it's autological then it doesn't describe itself. This is a paradox.
Anonymous
My dictionary says: "Not corresponding in structure or evolutionary origin"
But I think the word does correspond in structure and evolutionary origin. "Hetero" and "logical" are both well-known Greek roots, 'hetero' meaning 'other, and 'logical' meaning 'having to do with words'. I had never seen the word before but just by looking at it I could get an idea of what it meant.