Our language gives us plenty of opportunities to misspell words (e.g., affect-effect, principal-principle), and just as many chances to scratch our heads over the meaning of words. There is no better reminder of this dilemma than the contronym, also known as the auto-antonym. A contronym is a word with multiple meanings, two of which contradict each other.
We can use rent to mean to grant possession of a property in return for a payment, or to pay periodically for the use of an owned property. So we can say, "If she offers to rent her house to him at a reasonable price, he will rent it." Another contronym, rock, can mean rooted firmly or moving steadily, as in "They are as solid as a rock because they never rock the boat." We can also use left to mean remain with or to depart from. Thus, it makes sense to say, "She left her money with me, so I left with her money."
As new learners of English challenge us to explain such contradictions, we can only say with a smile, "You've got to get a feel for a language to execute it"—execute being yet another contronym.
We can use rent to mean to grant possession of a property in return for a payment, or to pay periodically for the use of an owned property. So we can say, "If she offers to rent her house to him at a reasonable price, he will rent it." Another contronym, rock, can mean rooted firmly or moving steadily, as in "They are as solid as a rock because they never rock the boat." We can also use left to mean remain with or to depart from. Thus, it makes sense to say, "She left her money with me, so I left with her money."
As new learners of English challenge us to explain such contradictions, we can only say with a smile, "You've got to get a feel for a language to execute it"—execute being yet another contronym.
