plurisignn.
/ˈplʊərɪsʌɪn/, /ˈplɔːrɪsʌɪn/, U.S. /ˈplʊrəˌsaɪn/ Chiefly Literary Theory.
A word or symbol used with several meanings simultaneously. Cf. monosign n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > semantics > polysemy > [noun] > word having several meanings > simultaneously
plurisign1940
1940 P. Wheelwright in Kenyon Rev. 2 266 The atomic ingredient of poetic language tends to be the plurisign.
1949 Jrnl. Philos. 46 436 Poetry, with its use of many-layered plurisigns, its allusiveness, its fondness for subtle implication and suggestion.
1981 Trans. Inst. Brit. Geogr. 6 147 Introduced by Wheelwright..to extend the ‘either-or’ relation of Empson's ambiguity..to a ‘both-and’ plurisign.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1940