SEMANTIC CHANGE
Semantic change is the evolution of word usage, usually to the point that the modern meaning is totally different from the original usage. Semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a word. Every word has a variety of senses and connotations, which can be added, removed, or altered over time. The study of semantic change can be seen as part of etymology, onomasiology, semasiology, and semantics.
EXAMPLE
Awful. Originally meant inspiring, wonder or fear, in nowadays the word usually is used with a negative meaning.
Guy—Guy Fawkes was the alleged leader of a plot to blow up the English Houses of Parliament. The day was made a holiday. now the word guy is used to refer a group of men or women.
Gay—Originally meant "lighthearted", "bright and showy", it also came to mean "happy"; it acquired connotations of immorality after 1637, by 1951 clipped to gay, to refer to homosexuals.
TYPES OF SEMANTIC CHANGE
1. Widening/Extension
=> range of meanings of a word increases so that the word can be used in more contexts than were appropriate before the change
-dog specific powerful breed of dog -
change- all breeds or races of dog
-cupboard table upon which cups or vessels were placed
change- closet or cabin with shelves for the keeping cups and dishes
2. Narrowing (specialisation, restriction)
=> range of meaning is decreased so that a word can be used appropriately only in fewer contexts than before the change
*meat food' in general -change- just steak
*girl 'child or young person of either sex' -change- 'female child, young woman'
3. Metaphor
-involves relationship of perceived similarity
*root root of plant, root of word, root in algebra, source
*stud 'good-looking sexy man ', 'a male animal used for breeding
4. Metonymy
-inclusion of additional senses which were originally not present but which are closely associated with word's original meaning
-tea 'drink' - 'evening meal accompanied by drinking tea';
5. Degeneration / Pejoration
-sense of a word takes on a less positive, more negative evaluation in the minds of the users
- 'a rogue' ' a youth, a child' , 'servant' ;
-disease 'illness' , 'discomfort'
6. Elevation /Amelioration
-shifts in the sense of a word in the direction towards a more positive value in the minds of the users
-knight 'mounted warrior serving a king' 'lesser nobility'
7. Taboo replacement and avoidance of obscenity
-ass 'long-eared animal related to a horse' - donkey;
-toilet : WC, bathroom, lavatory, restroom, loo, john
8. Hyperbole
-shift in meaning due to exaggeration by overstatement
-terribly, horribly, awfully 'very'
9. Litotes
- exaggeration by understatement
ETYMOLOGY
The word etymology is derived from the Greek etumos which means real or true. The ending ology suggests the study/science of something, as in biology or geology. And that is the etymology of etymology. It is the study of the origins of words
Here is another example. The Ancient Greek word hippos means horse. And potamus means river. Hence hippopotamus literally means river horse.
A few other parts of words derived from Ancient Greek are tele (long distance), micro (small), phone (speak), and scope (look). From these come such words as: Telephone, Telescope, Microphone, and Microscope.
Of course not all words are derived from
Ancient Greek. The English language is a rich mixture of many languages, and that is what makes its etymology so interesting.
Selected Etymology
Below is an alphabetically-arranged list of interesting British words, complete with a description of their origins (their etymologies). A brief definition for each word is included too. Some of the etymologies included here are uncertain, and where this is the case it has been indicated. For example:
Avocado Pear: Pear-shaped fruit with dark green, leathery skin, a large stony seed, and greenish-yellow edible pulp. Also the topical American tree on which this fruit grows.
Originally the Aztecs called this fruit ahucatl after their word for testicle. This is may be partly due to the fruit's resemblance to a testicle, but also because it was supposedly believed to be an aphrodisiac.
Malaria: Infectious disease characterised by chills and fever and caused by the bite of an infected anopheles mosquito.
This word comes from the mediaeval Italian mal (=bad) and aria (=air), describing the miasma from the swamps around Rome. This 'bad air' was believed to be the cause of the fever that often developed in those who spent time around the swamps.
Pedigree: A line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register or record of a line of ancestors.
Believed to be derived from the French ped de gru, which meant crane's foot (the modern French equivalent is pied de la grue).
Semantic change is the evolution of word usage, usually to the point that the modern meaning is totally different from the original usage. Semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a word. Every word has a variety of senses and connotations, which can be added, removed, or altered over time. The study of semantic change can be seen as part of etymology, onomasiology, semasiology, and semantics.
EXAMPLE
Awful. Originally meant inspiring, wonder or fear, in nowadays the word usually is used with a negative meaning.
Guy—Guy Fawkes was the alleged leader of a plot to blow up the English Houses of Parliament. The day was made a holiday. now the word guy is used to refer a group of men or women.
Gay—Originally meant "lighthearted", "bright and showy", it also came to mean "happy"; it acquired connotations of immorality after 1637, by 1951 clipped to gay, to refer to homosexuals.
TYPES OF SEMANTIC CHANGE
1. Widening/Extension
=> range of meanings of a word increases so that the word can be used in more contexts than were appropriate before the change
-dog specific powerful breed of dog -
change- all breeds or races of dog
-cupboard table upon which cups or vessels were placed
change- closet or cabin with shelves for the keeping cups and dishes
2. Narrowing (specialisation, restriction)
=> range of meaning is decreased so that a word can be used appropriately only in fewer contexts than before the change
*meat food' in general -change- just steak
*girl 'child or young person of either sex' -change- 'female child, young woman'
3. Metaphor
-involves relationship of perceived similarity
*root root of plant, root of word, root in algebra, source
*stud 'good-looking sexy man ', 'a male animal used for breeding
4. Metonymy
-inclusion of additional senses which were originally not present but which are closely associated with word's original meaning
-tea 'drink' - 'evening meal accompanied by drinking tea';
5. Degeneration / Pejoration
-sense of a word takes on a less positive, more negative evaluation in the minds of the users
- 'a rogue' ' a youth, a child' , 'servant' ;
-disease 'illness' , 'discomfort'
6. Elevation /Amelioration
-shifts in the sense of a word in the direction towards a more positive value in the minds of the users
-knight 'mounted warrior serving a king' 'lesser nobility'
7. Taboo replacement and avoidance of obscenity
-ass 'long-eared animal related to a horse' - donkey;
-toilet : WC, bathroom, lavatory, restroom, loo, john
8. Hyperbole
-shift in meaning due to exaggeration by overstatement
-terribly, horribly, awfully 'very'
9. Litotes
- exaggeration by understatement
ETYMOLOGY
The word etymology is derived from the Greek etumos which means real or true. The ending ology suggests the study/science of something, as in biology or geology. And that is the etymology of etymology. It is the study of the origins of words
Here is another example. The Ancient Greek word hippos means horse. And potamus means river. Hence hippopotamus literally means river horse.
A few other parts of words derived from Ancient Greek are tele (long distance), micro (small), phone (speak), and scope (look). From these come such words as: Telephone, Telescope, Microphone, and Microscope.
Of course not all words are derived from
Ancient Greek. The English language is a rich mixture of many languages, and that is what makes its etymology so interesting.
Selected Etymology
Below is an alphabetically-arranged list of interesting British words, complete with a description of their origins (their etymologies). A brief definition for each word is included too. Some of the etymologies included here are uncertain, and where this is the case it has been indicated. For example:
Avocado Pear: Pear-shaped fruit with dark green, leathery skin, a large stony seed, and greenish-yellow edible pulp. Also the topical American tree on which this fruit grows.
Originally the Aztecs called this fruit ahucatl after their word for testicle. This is may be partly due to the fruit's resemblance to a testicle, but also because it was supposedly believed to be an aphrodisiac.
Malaria: Infectious disease characterised by chills and fever and caused by the bite of an infected anopheles mosquito.
This word comes from the mediaeval Italian mal (=bad) and aria (=air), describing the miasma from the swamps around Rome. This 'bad air' was believed to be the cause of the fever that often developed in those who spent time around the swamps.
Pedigree: A line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register or record of a line of ancestors.
Believed to be derived from the French ped de gru, which meant crane's foot (the modern French equivalent is pied de la grue).
Traugott, Elizabeth Closs and Richard B. Dasher 2002. Regularity in Semantic Change. Recovered by http://www.uni-due.de/SHE/HE_Change_Semantic.htm