More Sound-alike Words, Otherwise Known as "Homophones"

Mown is an adjective referring to something that has been cut down with a scythe, a sickle or a machine. For example: New mown hay.
Moan is a sound made by people who are in grief or pain.

Tenant is a person who lives in an apartment.
Tenet is a principle or belief.

Fowl is a bird of any kind. For example, waterfowl is a category of bird.
Foul means offensive to the senses, loathsome, as in ''a foul smell.'' In baseball it means being outside the foul lines, ''a foul ball.'' It also means ''entangled.'' The verb we often come across is ''afoul,'' as in: ''He ran afoul of insider trading laws.''

Cite means to quote an authority. He cited many sources in his research paper.
Sight is the ability to see. The word also is used to refer to something worth seeing while you are on a tour. We saw the sights.
Site is a place. Typical usages include an architectural site or a building site. We never hear a detective use the phrase ''the site of the murder.'' The word ''scene'' is preferred. Why is that? Scene implies that drama took place. A ''site'' refers to just a location.

Secular is a word with radically different meanings.
A secular change refers to a change that lasts for centuries or is permanent, as opposed to a temporary change.
The same word also refers to worldly or temporal concerns. It means ''non-religious,'' as in ''secular music.'' In some religious institutions ''seculars'' are non-priests, meaning laymen. (Thanks to my brother, Marty Lustig, for bringing this word to my attention.)
Sect is a religious body or break-away group often thought to hold extreme views. The term sectarian refers to an adherent of a sect or a narrow or bigoted person. Some years ago, we began hearing about ''sectarian violence'' far too often.

Isn't it strange that the words secular and sect sound so much alike yet have nearly opposite meanings? As best as I can determine, the two words have completely different etymologies. Sect comes from the Latin secta, an organized ecclesiastical body. Secular comes from the Latin serere which means ''to sow.'' Strange but true.

Bare means naked.
A bear is an animal. Used as a verb, it means to carry or support, for example: The column bears the weight of the building.

Next month: more sound-alike words.