On the Awkward Polysemy of the Verb risk

Abstract

As one of Karin Aijmer’s fields of interest is that of semantics, a discussion of a polysemous word may not come amiss in this context. The difference between homonymy and polysemy is clear enough in principle, if often less clear in actual practice.1 As the semantic differences are greater, by definition, between homonyms than between different uses of a polysemous word, it might be thought that ambiguity, especially problematic ambiguity, is restricted to the sphere of homonyms. I will try to demonstrate with the help of the English verb risk that such is not the case.