R0021/2026-03-25/Q008/SRC01/E01¶
OED definitions for "set" and the most polysemous English words
URL: https://englishlanguagethoughts.com/2018/04/09/which-word-has-the-most-definitions-in-the-dictionary/
Extract¶
The Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1989) contains 430 definitions for the verb "set", making it the word with the most definitions at the time of publication. The full entry for "set" required 60,000 words to describe approximately 580 senses (430 for the bare verb, the rest in phrasal verbs and idioms).
However, as the OED3 revision progressed (starting from M), the record was broken: - "make" (2000) — new record - "put" (2007) — broke make's record - "run" (2011) — current record holder with 645 senses
The three most polysemous words in English are run, put, and set (in that order, per current OED3 data).
Relevance to Hypotheses¶
| Hypothesis | Relationship | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| H1 | Supports | A single word having 430-645 definitions demonstrates massive natural language ambiguity |
| H2 | Contradicts | The scale of polysemy is quantifiably enormous |
| H3 | N/A | Context resolution is not addressed by this evidence |
Context¶
For comparison, in a formal specification language like Z notation or TLA+, each term has exactly one defined meaning within its specification scope. The ratio of natural language meanings to formal language meanings for a single common word is approximately 430:1.