Polysemy vs. Homophony (was RE: Dakota zipA ...)

[Koontz John E]

On Mon, 14 Oct 2002, Rankin, Robert L wrote:
> So, are 'bridal TRAIN', choo choo TRAIN and TRAIN for the Olympics examples
> of homophony or polysemy?  ;-)

I should probably let Alan Hartley answer this one, but I think that the
first two are etymologically related.  Something about 'following'.  I'm
not sure about the second.  I don't have access to a dictionary at
present.

Actually, in this case the point is probably moot.  The existence of a
historical connection doesn't mean that there is a connection in a given
English speaker's mind.  If things grow far enough apart, they aren't
related anymore?

JEK