Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009

Searching for "contranym" at the AUE website, I get one hit:

   Issue of October 28, 2005
   Such words are called "contranyms," "auto-antonyms" or
   "Janus words" (Janus being a Roman god often depicted as
   having two faces). Other contranyms include ...
   www.word-detective.com/102805.html - Cached

Searching for "contronym" at the AUE website, I get the following from
Michael Quinion's site:

   World Wide Words: Janus-faced
   A Janus-faced word is a contronym, a word like cleave that
   has two opposing meanings. World Wide Words is copyright ©
   Michael Quinion, 1996–2009. ...
   www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-jan1.htm

I disagree that "contronym" is an inferior spelling to "contranym."
Compare "synonym," "heteronym," and other formations on the root
"onym."  The etymological source is the Greek "onyma", "name."

I think when Mark Israel first introduced a list of contronyms in hi
AUE FAQ, he spelled it "contranyms" and someone corrected him.  Or
maybe it was the other way around.  Anyway, his FAQ now has the
statement:

   Richard Lederer, in Crazy English (Pocket Books, 1989,
   ISBN 0-671-68907-X), calls these "contronyms".

FWIW, my spelling checker wants to change "contranym" to "contronym."