Think of an example of hyponymy.

Answer

Basically, any example that allows you to work your way through the tree bottom to top using the phrase ‘…is a type of…’, is a good example. There are a lot of examples of hyponymy, here are a few:

 

Diagram 1

Diagram 1: a kitchen table is a type of table. a table is a type of furniture)

Diagram 2

Diagram 21: Granny Smith is a type of apple, which is a type of fruit, which is a type of food…

Diagram 3

Diagram 3: Cesky Terrier is a type of terrier, is a type of dog, is a type of animal…

Note that in all these trees only one word was chosen to work out in more detail, but of course there are also different types of cats, horses, pigs, etc.

These lists are mainly limited by the author’s knowledge. There may be different types of Border Terriers, and different types of Golden Delicious. There is no clear end in the hierarchy of hyponymy.

If you have made a list such as the following (Diagram 4):

Diagram 4

You have made a list of meronymy. Note that this is not the same as hyponymy. Instead of ‘…is a type of…’ meronymy can be explained by using the phrase ‘…is a part of…’. So transmission is a part of an engine which is a part of a car. An engine is of course not a type of car!

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