Relational oppositeness
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In linguistics, the term relational oppositeness refers to the relationship between two words which seem to be opposites of each other but in fact actually imply each other. They can be understood as a pair of words where one word implies a relationship between two objects, while the other implies the existence of the same relationship when the objects are reversed. [1] Relational opposites are sometimes referred to as complimentary antonyms because an "either/or" relationship is present between them. One exists only because the other exists.[2]
List of Relational Opposites [edit]
- Own and Belong are relational opposites i.e. "A owns B" is the same as "B belongs to A."
- Win and lose i.e. if someone wins, someone must lose.
- Fraction and Whole i.e. if there is a fraction, there must be a whole.
- Above and Below
- Employer and Employee
- Parent and Child
- Teacher and Student
- Buy and Sell
- East and West
- Husband and Wife
- Predator and Prey
- Lend and Borrow
- Offense and Defense
- Slave and Master
