Полисемия в българската и английската военноморска терминология

The article discusses both traditional and less common views of polysemy in terminology, il- lustrating them with Bulgarian and English naval terms. Polysemy, which is a manifestation of language variation and the tendency towards economy, is more strongly represented in English naval terminology. There is asymmetry between the two languages, one of the corresponding terms often having a wider/narrower meaning. In cases of borrowing of English naval terms into Bulgarian, semantic distinctions may be expressed by different suffixation. Polysemy rarely causes ambiguities leading to communication breakdown.