Four Corners

 

Today’s word is contronym, also known as auto-antonym or Janus word: a word with two definitions that contradict each other. If you grew up reading Amelia Bedelia, you already know one. Mrs. Rogers tells her maid, Amelia, to dust the furniture. Mrs. Rogers meant to remove the dust, while Amelia assumed she was to sprinkle dust on the furniture. Because “dust” means two opposite things, it’s a contronym. Other examples of controyms are “cleave,” which means to cling to something or cut it apart, “overlook,” which means to supervise or to forget, and “buckle,” which means to fasten together or to fall apart. If you “sanction” something, you’re granting approval or permission. But when a country imposes a sanction, it penalizes or condemns. When someone puts down a deposit and moves into an apartment, it’s said that they are “renting.” But the landlord who takes their deposit and gives them the key is also renting. Isn’t English wonderfully weird?