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I came across this line in the book Ship of Theseus(p.14):

It's just an homage to his writing.

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(the hand-written notes filling the book's margins are printed and an inseparable part of the book.)

I've never seen the word "homage" being used as a countable noun before, and having got an "an" before it?

Isn't it wrong to use the word "homage" as a countable noun?

2 Answers 2

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"Homage" is a countable noun, in the sense of "an act done in tribute of or respect for something". (in fact it's the usual meaning of the word nowadays)

An entry, showcasing meanings and different pronunciations

Also, the reason why the writer put an before "homage" is because the pronunciation of homage is kind of all over the place, with some pronunciations having the H silent.

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    In my experience (native speaker of British English, somewhat backed up by your link), it's usually pronounced as a French word (omm-ahj) when it's used literally or figuratively in the sense of "an artistic tribute" and as a naturalized English word (homm-ij) elsewhere, e.g., in the phrase "pay homage to". Oct 16, 2015 at 10:14
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Homage is definitely countable, although it is rarely used in the plural.

The typical modern meaning of homage (definition 2 at the link) is a special and notable honor paid to someone, so it is unusual that more than one such honor would be paid at a time. That said, it is entirely possible for such a thing to occur, and homages is definitely a word that is used in English, and the MW link I provided includes an example of how it might be used.

his long life filled with international homages to his unique musical talent

Saying that a work of art (literary, musical, visual, etc) is an homage to another artist is a common expression.

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  • I hate the modern meaning, and the reversion to French pronunciation, but there's no denying it exists. Oct 16, 2015 at 11:56
  • I'm fine with the modern meaning, but the French-style pronunciation feels kind of pretentious. Oct 16, 2015 at 14:22

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