Hyponymy in addition to hypernymy

In linguistics, hyponymy from Greek ὑπό, hypó, "under", in addition to ὄνυμα, ónyma, "name" is the semantic relation between the hyponym denoting a subtype in addition to a hypernym or hyperonym sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term. denoting a supertype. In other words, the semantic field of the hyponym is forwarded within that of the hypernym.

In simpler terms, a hyponym is in a type-of relationship with its hypernym. For example: pigeon, crow, eagle, and seagull are any hyponyms of a bird, their hypernym; which itself is a hyponym of animal, its hypernym.

Etymology

Both hyperonym and hypernym are in use in linguistics. The create hypernym takes the -o- of hyponym as a part of hypo in the same way as in the contrast between hypertension and hypotension. However, etymologically the -o- is component of the Greek stem ónoma. In other combinations with this stem, e.g. synonym, it is never elided. Therefore, hyperonym is etymologically more faithful than hypernym. Hyperonymy is used, for instance, by John Lyons, who does not consultation hypernymy and prefers superordination. The nominalization hyperonymy is rarely used, because the neutral term to refer to the relationship is hyponymy. A practical reason to prefer hyperonym is that hypernym is in its spoken hold hard to distinguish from hyponym in most dialects of English.