Homophones and Homographs

This expanded fourth edition defines and cross-references 9,040 homophones and 2,133 homographs (up from 7,870 and 1,554 in the 3rd ed.).
As the most comprehensive compilation of American homophones (words that sound alike) and homographs (look-alikes), this latest edition serves well where even the most modern spell-checkers and word processors fail—although rain, reign, and rein may be spelled correctly, the context in which these words may appropriately be used is not obvious to a computer.

The late James B. Hobbs was professor emeritus at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania.

Compiled by James B. Hobbs
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 376
Bibliographic Info: appendix, bibliography
Copyright Date: 2019 [2006]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7823-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0393-3
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Overview of Homophones and Homographs      3

Definitions      3
The “Conflict of Homophones” Controversy      5
Criteria for Including and Excluding Words      6
Notational Devices and Phonetic Symbols      8
Organization of the Dictionary      9
Some Final Thoughts      11

Homophones      13

Homographs      293

Appendix: Unusual Groupings      351

Homophones      351
Five or More One-Syllable Words      352
Four or More Two-Syllable Words      352
Three or More Three-Syllable Words      352
All Four-, Five-, and Six-Syllable Words      353
Homographs (three or more words)      354
Homophones and Homographs (all words)      355

Annotated Bibliography      359

• “A serious work of exemplary scholarship that stands alone in the field…recommended”—Booklist
• “Comprehensive, authoritative, and useful sourcebook”—ARBA
• “Valuable resource…the annotated bibliography is more than seven excellent pages in length…useful”—Library Journal
• “A fascinating compendium of potential misunderstandings…a gold mine for students of English and for writers, journalists, and instructors…recommended”—Choice
• “The best roster of these phenomena”—Wilson Library Bulletin
• “A good choice for any library”—Reference Quarterly
• “A good sourcebook”—C&RL News
• “The interesting annotated bibliography is a useful, critical guide to a very wide range of relevant dictionaries and commentaries…essential”—Reference Reviews.