Tuesday Tricksters: Naval -- New

So, here are a few more difficult-to-remember words, because they sound alike (or nearly so, anway), but don’t mean the same thing and are spelled differently. They’re known as homophones, in polite company, anyway . . . and spellcheck is useless with them.

Naval (adj.): having to do with a navy, its ships, or its personnel
Navel (n.): that depression in an abdoment where the umbilical cord was; a “bellybutton”

Nave (n.): the middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances
Knave (n.): a scoundral or dishonest person

Neap (adj.): a type of tide that happens just after the first and third quarters of the lunar cycle when the low tides are higher and the high tides are lower
Neep (n.): the British term for turnip

Nee (n.): used to indicate a woman’s maiden name (Susan Jones, nee Smith)
Knee (n.): the joint between the thigh and lower leg

Need (v.): to want; to desire (n.): a want or a desire
Knead (v.): to work or massage something with your hands (to knead bread)
Kneed (adj.): having knees; (v.): past tense of to knee (to hit with the knee)

New (adj.): not old
Nu (interjection): Yiddish for So? or Well?
Gnu (n.): an African animal, also known as a wildebeest
Knew (v.): did know

Were you surprised by any of these words? I had never seen either neap or neep, not that I expect to use either in my lifetime.

For more on these or any English word, check out www.YourDictionary.com, a terrific resource that shows words and their definitions in several dictionaries.

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