The term «polysemy» means plurality of meanings. Polysemy is the ability of a word to have more than one meaning. The bulk of English words are polysemantic. Polysemy exists only in language, not in speech. A word in one of its meanings in which it is used in speech is called a lexico-semantic variant (LSV). The meanings, or lexico-semantic variants, of a polysemantic word form its semantic structure. The semantic structure of a polysemantic word presents a set of interrelated and interdependent lexico-semantic variants. The analysis of the number and types of LSVs and interrelations between the LSVs of a polysemantic word is called a lexico-semantic analysis. The seme is the smallest further indivisible unit of meaning. The analysis of the meaning into these components, or semes, is called a componential analysis.
