# "Peer" is its own antonym?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 10, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031 "2010-03-10T21:10:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/1 "2010-03-10T21:10:50Z")
A “peer” is an equal, related to Latin “par.”
But a “peer” is also someone sho holds s title of nobility.
Does anyone know the story behind the development of these contradictory meanings?
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/2 "2010-03-10T21:14:34Z")
Peers are at an equal societal level with other Peers.
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### Author:  [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/3 "2010-03-10T21:16:00Z")
Because the only peers that mattered were peers. Or at least it was at one point.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/4 "2010-03-10T21:18:16Z")
Because the people who were setting the terminology didn’t care about commoners. To them, you were either “important and special like me”, and hence a peer, or irrelevant.
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### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/5 "2010-03-10T21:25:59Z")
Wasn’t the original term for nobles “peer of the realm”? So the original phrase specified what you were a peer of (the nobility/king) but common usage shortened the phrase and left the specification implied.
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### Author:  [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/6 "2010-03-10T21:26:19Z")
And not all nobles are Peers. Only Dukes, Duchesses, Princes, Princesses, and the Monarch are Peers, I believe, at least in the English system of nobility.
Being a Peer means you can talk to the Monarch as if you are their equal, in theory. In practice, not so much, but more so than anyone else in the realm.
There have been periods in English history where the Monarch was arguably less powerful than other Peers of the Realm. That was practically the default state in French feudal history.
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### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/7 "2010-03-10T21:41:51Z")
I know a couple of other words that are their own antonyms, at least to a certain degree:
“cleave” can mean to cut apart or to adhere together.
“sanction” can mean to approve or to disapprove.
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### Author:  [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/8 "2010-03-10T21:49:13Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#):
>
> Peers are at an equal societal level with other Peers.
And a person they pee on is a peeee. 😃
Oh, and imflammable means flammable? Vat a country!
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### Author:  [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/9 "2010-03-10T21:54:59Z")
Actually, I’m wrong. A person that peers pee on is a peon.
I looked it up.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/10 "2010-03-10T22:18:18Z")
> [@acsenray](#):
>
> A “peer” is an equal, related to Latin “par.”
>
> But a “peer” is also someone sho holds s title of nobility.
>
> Does anyone know the story behind the development of these contradictory meanings?
**dracoi** is correct. It’s _Peer of the Realm_, which has become contracted to _Peer_. And note, that as a title, it’s capitalised. In the House of Lords, a Peer is the peer only of their peers, the other Peers.
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### Author:  [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/11 "2010-03-10T22:52:21Z")
And to ‘bone’ (as in to ‘bone a chicken’) and to ‘de-bone’ both mean the same thing.
A couple of years ago, I read a book about the English language, and the author said something along the lines of (boy am I paraphrasing loosely here): “The English language tried to adhere to the rules of Latin, which is something like trying to play rugby by the rules of baseball. . .” 😉
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/12 "2010-03-10T22:55:55Z")
> [@norinew](#):
>
> And to ‘bone’ (as in to ‘bone a chicken’) and to ‘de-bone’ both mean the same thing.
And likewise, in reverse, for dusting something: are you removing a light powder or coating stuff with one?
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### Author:  [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/13 "2010-03-10T23:13:30Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> I know a couple of other words that are their own antonyms, at least to a certain degree:
>
> “cleave” can mean to cut apart or to adhere together.
>
> “sanction” can mean to approve or to disapprove.
Ravel, and by extension unravel, are both their own antonyms.
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### Author:  [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/14 "2010-03-10T23:24:18Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#):
>
> Ravel, and by extension unravel, are both their own antonyms.
As are ‘peel’ and ‘un-peel’.
Gosh, I could play this game forever! Are you sure we’re in the right forum?😛
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/15 "2010-03-10T23:44:03Z")
Words that are their own antonyms are sometimes called contronyms or auto-antonyms: See [the Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym) and their [list of contronyms in English](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym). “Peer” is not currently on their list.
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### Author:  [@ragerdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ragerdude)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/16 "2010-03-10T23:49:36Z")
“Thaw” and “unthaw” mean the same thing.
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### Author:  [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/17 "2010-03-10T23:55:00Z")
> [@ragerdude](#):
>
> “Thaw” and “unthaw” mean the same thing.
Ditto “ravel” and “unravel.”
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/18 "2010-03-11T00:46:58Z")
> [@Quartz](#):
>
> And note, that as a title, it’s capitalised. In the House of Lords, a Peer is the peer only of their peers, the other Peers.
That’s a stylistic issue. And your reasoning is wrong. You’re not using it as a title. That would be – “Peer John Smith knelt before the queen.” And as far as I can tell it’s not commonly used that way. In “John Smith is a peer of the realm,” there’s no need to capitalize.
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### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/19 "2010-03-11T00:57:57Z")
How about “sanction”, almost. To sanction something means to condone or permit it. But “sanctions” against someone or something are punitive restrictions.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peer-is-its-own-antonym/532031/20 "2010-03-11T01:08:23Z")
“Fast” – rapid
“fast” – unmoving
“Cleave” can mean either join together or split apart.
“Moot” can mean “subject to debate” (“moot court”) or “undebatable” (“moot point”).
Language is not logical.
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