The phenomenon of (synonymy) in the Arabic language, along with other phenomena, is considered a reason for the richness of the Arabic language and the richness of the Arabic lexicon. The speaker can express a thing or meaning with more than one word without causing confusion in understanding for the listener.
(Synonymy) means that two or more words indicate one meaning. Synonymy does not mean that we make the name of a thing and its description synonymous with one meaning, but (synonymy) is two independent names that indicate one meaning. Synonymy is what has one meaning and many words, such as (lion and lion).
And in the verb, such as (sat and sat down) and (stood and stood up).
Linguists differed in the past about how synonymy occurs. A group of scholars said that synonymy came from a tribe or people who used a word for a specific meaning, and another distant tribe used another word for the same meaning, then the two words became famous for one meaning over time. Another group of scholars said that synonymy came because a people or tribe approved of a word for a specific meaning, then after When the people themselves preferred another word for the same meaning, so the same meaning became two or more words.
Linguists differed in the past about the existence of synonymy, whether it exists or not in the language. A group said that every word that differs from another word in letters must have a difference in meaning between them, such as (jals and qa’ad) two words for one meaning. A group said that there is no synonymy between them because there is a small difference in meaning between (jals and qa’ad). There is a group that said that they are two words for one meaning without a difference in meaning, which is synonymy. This opinion was held by most of the ancient and modern scholars, meaning that most of the blind said that there is synonymy in the language.
It is in fact the opposite of synonymy, as it means that every word indicates many meanings. Examples of verbal homonym in the Arabic language include the word (al-Khal), which means the mother’s brother, the cloud, the huge camel, and other meanings. One word indicates many meanings, or like the word (al-‘ayn), which means the eye with which we see, and it means a water well, and it means a spy, and other meanings. There is no doubt that verbal homonym exists in many languages of the world other than Arabic. …We also mention that some scholars denied the phenomenon of verbal homonyms in the Arabic language, and they are few scholars, as it is a phenomenon that is completely clear in the texts of the Arabic language and even exists in the Holy Quran. There are several reasons for the emergence of what is called verbal homonyms in the Arabic language, the most important of which is the difference in ancient Arabic dialects, such as several tribes using one word for different meanings according to each tribe. When scholars wrote dictionaries, they wrote the meaning of one word according to each tribe. For example, the word (al-Hawb) means sin in one tribe and destruction in a second tribe, and in a third tribe it means sister, and in a fourth tribe it means daughter. When scholars wrote dictionaries, they wrote that the meaning of (al-Hawb) is sin, destruction, sister, and daughter. In the end, it is a phenomenon that indicates the richness and wealth of the Arabic language, as a person can express many meanings with one word. We know the intended meaning according to the general context of the sentence and text.
Contradiction means that we use one word for a meaning and its opposite. An example of contradiction in the Arabic language is to say (al-Hameem) which means cold water and also means hot water. Like saying the word (al-Aqeel) and we mean the person who has a good mind and we also say it for the insane.
An example is also like the word (al-Jawn) which we say for white and black as well, and the word (Jalal) which is said for a small thing and a great thing. This is the meaning of contradiction in the Arabic language, meaning we say a word for a specific meaning and we also say it for the opposite of this meaning. There is a difference between Arabic linguists. Some of them said that there is contradiction in the language because the meanings are very many and endless and the words are few, so the contradiction appeared. There is a group that denied contradiction in the language because this makes us not understand exactly what is meant by the word, is it this meaning intended or something else.. But in any case, most Arabic linguists, ancient and modern, said that there is contradiction in the Arabic language and the meaning of the word is understood exactly according to the meaning of the sentence and the general context of the speech. And scholars say that there are many reasons For example, the opposite of optimism, the Arab would say about a sick person (Saleem), which originally means a healthy, non-sick person, so the Arab would say it to the sick person out of optimism. Also, one of the reasons for the appearance of the opposite in the language is sarcasm or mockery, so the Arab would say about a person whose mind is not good (Aqeel), which originally we say to a person with a good mind. So the Arab would say it to others out of mockery.
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