Litvinko O. A. The problem of polysemy in modern English subsystem of terms – mechanical engineering

Abstract

This article focuses on the problem of polysemy in modern English terminology within the special subsystem
of terms – mechanical engineering. Relevance of the study is explained by the leading role of scientific and
technical terminology in the English system of professional communication. The purpose of this article is to study
the problem of polysemy in the specified terminological subsystem.
Polysemy in terminology is an evident factor. The analysis of polysemantic units of English subsystem of
terms (mechanical engineering) shows their prevalence in the specified subsystem, despite the fact that polysemy
is undesirable for terminological systems. The English terminology of mechanical engineering subsystem contains
numerous polysemantic lexical units. Most of the key terms of mechanical engineering are polysemantic words.
Polysemy is a characteristic feature of the root lexical units. This phenomenon is seldom realized in complex
lexical units. Metonymy is the main source of polysemy in mechanical engineering subsystem.