Main Entry: hom·onym

Pronunciation: \ˈhä-mə-ˌnim, ˈhō-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Latin homonymum, from Greek homōnymon, from neuter of homōnymos

Date: 1697

1 a : homophone b : homograph c : one of two or more words spelled and pronounced alike but different in meaning (as the noun quail and the verb quail)
2 : namesake
3 : a taxonomic designation rejected as invalid because the identical term has been used to designate another group of the same rank — compare synonym

— hom·onym·ic \ˌhä-mə-ˈni-mik, ˌhō-\ adjective