paronomasia

n.

1. Word play; punning.
2. A pun.

[Latin, from Greek paronomasiā, from paronomazein, to call by a different name : para-, beside; see para-¹ + onomazein, to name; see onomastic.]

paronomastic par'o·no·mas'tic (-măs'tĭk) or par'o·no·ma'sial (-mā'zhəl, -zhē-əl) adj.
paronomastically par'o·no·mas'ti·cal·ly adv.

(par-uh-no-MAY-zhuh)

noun
A play on words, especially a pun.

Etymology
From Latin, from Greek, from paronomazein, to call by a slight name-change; para-, beside + onomazein, to name.

Usage
"Paronomasia Having fun Is the measure of pleasure And so the pun Is the pleasure I treasure. But the trouble is, Others at me scoff -- For what turns me on Turns all of them off." — Lakenan Barnes, Pepper... And Salt, The Wall Street Journal, Mar 10, 1986.

---

a play on words, pun; hence, paronomastic

A play on words in which the same word is used in different senses or words similar in sound are used in opposition to each other for a rhetorical contrast; a pun. For an example, see Well-Versed.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a humorous play on words
  Synonyms: pun, punning, wordplay

---