Onomatopoeia/sound imitation – 1. The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.G. Cuckoo, sizzle); 2. The use of such words.

Onomatopoeic words – words formed by means of sound imitation, onomatopeia (q.v.).

Opaque idiom – See idiom

Opposition – a difference between two (or more) homogeneous units which is capable of fulfilling a semiological function, i.e. a semiologically relevant difference. Typology of os.:

• binary/tertiary o.;

• equipollent/privative o.;

• lexical o.;

• polydimensional o.;

• proportional o.;

• synonymic o.

Oppositive relationships in lexis – semantic relationship between lexical units which meanings contain elements which can be contrasted on different bases (e.g. antonymic and conversive relationships). – See Antonyms; Conversives

Origin of borrowing – the term refers to the language to which a loan word can be traced. – See Borrowing; Source of borrowing

Overtone – See Connotation; Implication

Oxymora – pl. from Oxymoron (q.v.)

Oxymoron – a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g. faith unfaithful kept him falsely true). A negimplicational combination of explicational type (See Explicational combinations) when the explicant (q.v.) denotes a feature belonging to negative implicational part of the semantics of the explicandum (q.v.). – See Figurative language; Implicational component of meaning

P

Paradigm – 1). the system of the grammatical forms of a word; 2). lexico-semantic p. – a contrastive set of lexical items capable of replacing the item under analysis in all its contexts.

Paradigmatic – See Paradigmatics

Paradigmatics – 1) associative (non-simultaneous) relationship of words in language as distinct from linear (simultaneous) relationship of words in speech (syntagmatics); relation of units in absentia (e.g. synonymic, antonymic relationships); 2) an approach to language when the elements of its system are regarded as associated units joined by oppositional relationship.

Paralinguistics – study of non-linguistic (paralinguistic) elements of communication, which contribute to the exchange of information (gestures, bodily movements, facial expressions, etc.)

Parasynthetic word-formation – See Compound, derivational c.

Paronymy (from Gr. 'para' – 'beside' + 'noma' – 'name') – linguistic phenomenon of seeming coincidence of words in form which can lead either to confusion, malapropism (improper use of words) or stylistic usage (e.g. addresser vs. addressee).

Paronyms – words which are kindred in origin, sound form and meaning and therefore liable to be mixed but in fact different in meaning and usage and therefore only mistakenly interchanged (e.g. ingenuous, ingenious). The likeness may not be caused by common origin but be purely accidental (affect vs effect). – See Paronymy

Paronymic attraction – when words are confused with other words on the basis of their similarity (e.g. sporadic – spasmodic).

Partitives – words which semantics contains part/whole semes. – See Holonyms; Meronyms

Parts of speech – classes into which words of a language are divided by virtue of their having a) certain general (abstract, categorial) meaning underlying their concrete lexical meaning; b) a system of grammatical categories characteristic of this class; c) specific syntactic functions; d) special types of form-building and word formation.

Pejoration of meaning – also deterioration/degradation of meaning; a type of semantic shift (attitudinal shift) (q.v.) undergone by words as their referents come down the social scale (which is connected with the change in denotation), involving the appearance of a derogatory and scornful emotive tone (which is connected with the change in connotation). Opp. to amelioration of meaning (q.v.). E.g. 'clown' once meant 'peasant', 'farmer'; 'villain': 'farm servant' > 'scoundrel'. P. reflects certain prototypical schemes of semantic change: e.g. nationality word  pejorative term; name of a country dweller  pejorative term, etc. – See Semantic change