'External'--changes in technology, institutions, scientific concepts,
etc. (see also Technological change and
Semantic change
'Internal'
contagion --associations contracted in habitual context
Fr. ne...pas> pas 'not'
ne....personne > personne 'nobody'
Engl. budge, accident
clipping-- part of a complex element takes on meaning of the whole
(economic motivation)
Causes of Change
car electricity
pen atom
God humor
satellite parliament torpedo
(Germ) taufen, literally 'dip', now also 'baptize'
town ( < enclosure; ), cognate with Germ. Zaun 'fence'
private soldier > private
rifle gun > rifle
bugle horn > bugle (from buculus < bos 'bovine animal')
porter's ale > porter
Lat. singularis porcus 'solitary pig' > Fr. sanglier 'wild boar'
taximeter cabriolet > taxicab > taxi or cab;
phone, TV, etc.
sleeping car > sleeper (-er suffix somewhat productive as clipping
device
In Brit. English--footer, soccer, brekker)
Mechanisms/results of change
taboo-euphemism (often iterative process)
'bear', 'weasel'
words for 'left'
Death taboos in Australia, New Guinea
crippled - handicapped - disabled
privy - toilet - bathroom - restroom
'tongue'??
Metaphor (similarity of senses)
= 'Domain shift'
---the body as major domain of metaphorical extension--
body parts --> parts of objects
brow of a hill
mouth of a river
heart of the matter
leg of a table
sight, hearing --> understanding
wit, Gm. wissen, cognate with Lat. videre 'see'
light, brightness: enlighten, illuminating, brilliant
taste --> emotion
bitter disappointment
synaesthesia --transfers from one physical sense domain to another
touch --> sound
warm, cold voice
sound --> sight
loud colors
taste --> sound, odor
sweet voices, smells
sight --> sound
clear tones, Germ. hell 'clear, bright' < hall- 'to resound'
physical appearance --> moral evaluation
fair
capability --> physical appearance
handsome < 'handy, skilful'
pretty < 'skilful, ingenious'
physical straightness --> moral rectitude
right, righteousness
Metonymy (contiguity of senses)
bead
clock
boon
Fr. grC(ve
mass (Ite missa est...)
Fr. cuisse 'thigh' < Lat. coxa 'hip'
Sp. boca < Lat. bucca 'cheek'
synechdoche (= part for the whole, pars pro toto)
hands (workers)
wheels (car)
eponymy
silhouette, sadism, masochism, ohm, sandwich, cardigan.
Related: trade names that become ordinary nouns:
kleenex, xerox
Clipping and contagion as a kind of language-internal metonymy?
Broadening (Semantic extension, generalization)
pantry
arrive
ship (v.)
embark
Lat. causa > Sp. cosa
Gmc. * ing > Eng. 'thing'
grow
uncle (Eng., Fr., Germ.) < Lat. avunculus 'maternal uncle'
(vs. patruus)
Narrowing (semantic restriction, specialization)
deer (cf. Gm. Tier)
hound (Hund)
fowl (Vogel)
meat, corn
Fr. herbe 'grass'
starve; Fr. nover 'drown' < Lat. necare 'kill'
voyage < 'journey'
poison, potion
Amelioration
marshal
minister
chancellor
queen (Cl. Greek gyn 'woman')
knight
nice (Lat. nescius 'ignorant' > wanton, lascivious
thin, unimportant, trivial >
fastidious, delicate >
fine (distinctions) > 'agreeable,
delicate > kind,
pleasant to others)
Pejoration
sinister
crafty
words for women
silly, cretin (likely through euphemism)
villain, knave
boor
'Middle terms' (may undergo amelioration or pejoration, by contagion)
luck (lucky)
fortune (fortunate)
O. French heur < Lat. augurium 'good or bad augury' (heureux)
chance < L. cadentia 'falling' (of the dice)
accident
hazard
fate (fatal)
Some directional tendencies in semantic change
'now' to 'before/after now'
soon (formerly 'at once')
presently
anon
just
Germ. gleich
concrete ---> abstract ('Kronasser's law)
(Operates over and above broadening, narrowing, amelioration,
pejoration, metaphor; subsumes space --> time below)
investigate
comprehend
eliminate
involve
develop
reveal
also: boor, bright bead
spatial ---> temporal
prepositions, motion verbs (Eng. and many lgs.)
before, after
the years ahead
come, go
'aspectual satellites' --on, up, down
case relations --'to' Fr. 'de', 'a'
© Suzanne Kemmer
Last modified August 2017