The relationship where X is a type of Y (for example, banana to fruit) is known as what?

The relationship where X is a type of Y (for example, banana to fruit) is known as what?

• A. Hyponym
• B. Meronym
• C. Homonym
• D. Homophone

Answer: (A)

Hyponymy is the relationship where a term X is a specific kind of term Y. When X is a type of Y, X is a hyponym of Y and Y is a hypernym of X. So between banana and fruit, banana is a hyponym of fruit because a banana is a specific example within the broader category fruit. The other terms don’t describe this kind of category relationship: a meronym is a part of something, not a kind within a category; a homonym is a word that shares spelling or pronunciation with another word but has different meanings; a homophone is a word that sounds the same as another but may have different spelling or meaning.

Hyponymy is the relationship where a term X is a specific kind of term Y. When X is a type of Y, X is a hyponym of Y and Y is a hypernym of X. So between banana and fruit, banana is a hyponym of fruit because a banana is a specific example within the broader category fruit. The other terms don’t describe this kind of category relationship: a meronym is a part of something, not a kind within a category; a homonym is a word that shares spelling or pronunciation with another word but has different meanings; a homophone is a word that sounds the same as another but may have different spelling or meaning.