Converse (semantics)

{{Short description|Pairs of words that refer to a relationship from opposite points of view}}

In linguistics, converses or relational antonyms are pairs of words that refer to a relationship from opposite points of view, such as parent/child or borrow/lend.{{cite web |url=http://www-01.sil.org/linguistics/glossary_fe/glossary.asp?entryid=10269 |title=converse |work=The SIL French/English Glossary of Linguistic Terms |accessdate=2013-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022094017/http://www-01.sil.org/linguistics/glossary_fe/glossary.asp?entryid=10269 |archive-date=2014-10-22 |url-status=dead }}{{cite book|last1=Plag|first1=Ingo|last2=Braun|first2=Maria|last3=Lappe|first3=Sabine|last4=Schramm |first4=Mareile |title=Introduction to English Linguistics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bLvZHmGA8q4C|accessdate=4 July 2013|year=2009|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-021550-2}} The relationship between such words is called a converse relation. Converses 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. {{cite web |url=http://www.worsleyschool.net/socialarts/synonyms/page.html |title=Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms |accessdate=4 July 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510120223/http://worsleyschool.net/socialarts/synonyms/page.html |archivedate=10 May 2012}} Converses are sometimes referred to as complementary antonyms because an "either/or" relationship is present between them. One exists only because the other exists.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518211914/http://annies-annex.com/antonyms.htm |archive-date=18 May 2011|url-status=unfit|url=http://www.annies-annex.com/antonyms.htm |title=Antonyms |publisher=Annies-annex.com |accessdate=2016-12-27}}