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Meaning of Words
In general, Semantics (from the Greek semantikos, or "significant meaning," derived from "sema," sign) always refers to some kind of meaning (of something that is written) and is thus usually opposed to syntax , which refers to the formal way in which something is written. It is a subfield of linguistics that is traditionally defined as the study of meaning. One area of study is the meaning of compounds, another is the study of relations between different linguistic expressions (homonymy, synonymy, antonymy, polysemy, hypernymy, hyponymy).
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Semantic progression describes the evolution of word usage - usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage. For example, 'awful' originally meant something more akin to 'awesome' or 'full of awe,' but now has a meaning that is almost the exact opposite.
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All metaphors can be analyzed and reduced to the equation "X equals Y." Examples in everyday languge abound. The expression, "You are the sunshine of my life" equates someone's beloved with sunshine; something that is impossible in literal terms unless that person becomes a ball of nuclear fusion. The expression "candle in the wind" likens life's fragility to an extinguished candle. Metaphor is one of the most common figures of speech and many words have their origin in metaphor. When a metaphor is so common that people usually take it for granted, it is called a dead metaphor. Understanding, for example, is a dead metaphor, having its origins in the idea that "standing under" something was akin to having a good grasp of it (another, slightly less dead metaphor) or knowing it thoroughly.
Metaphors are seen as very powerful tools because they allow for the expression of abstract principles by reference to concretes. They can also be dangerous to understanding, in that people may fail to recognize the figurative nature of a metaphor, and come to take it literally. On the other hand, since so many, many words are dead metaphors, attempting to avoid them entirely would end in silence. For instance, consideration is a metaphor meaning "take the stars into account", mantel means "cloak or hood to catch smoke", gorge means throat, and so forth for thousands more.
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Metonymy is the substitution of one word for another with which it is associated. Metonymy works by contiguity rather than similarity. Typically, when someone uses metonymy, they don't wish to transfer qualities (as you do with metaphor ). The common figure "The White House said..." is a good example of metonymy, with the term "White House" actually referring to the authorities who are symbolized by the White House, which is an inanimate object that says nothing. The Crown for a kingdom is another example of this kind of metonymy. Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: describing someone's house in order to describe them, for example. Advertising frequently uses this kind of metonymy, simply putting a product in close proximity to something we want (beauty, happiness).
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Through slang and jargon, along with borrowing from other languages, new words are constantly entering the language. Examples of recent neologisms (from neo 'new' + log 'word') include punked, WMDs, and blog, among many others.
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