Max and Corissa Anderson, t4t couple photographed by Mariette Pathy Allen in the late 1990s and early 2000s
Processes of Meaning Change
There are 5 processes of meaning change:
- extension of meaning
- narrowing of meaning
- degeneration/pejoration of meaning
- regeneration/amelioration of meaning
- metaphorization
1. Extension of meaning
The meaning of a word develops from one meaning or a limited meaning spectrum to several meanings or a broader meaning spectrum.
Examples:
- lovely = early meaning: worthy to be loved; meaning today: beautiful, attractive
- great = early meaning/partly today: big; meaning today: wonderful (e.g. the weather here is great)
2. Narrowing of meaning
The meaning of a word develops from several meanings or a broader meaning spectrum to one meaning or a limited meaning spectrum.
Examples:
- deer = Old English: dēor – any kind of animal; Modern English: one/a few certain species
- fare = Old English: same meaning as today’s ‘drive’; used in Modern English only in restricted contexts farewell
3. Degeneration/pejoration of meaning
The meaning of a word develops from a previously positively perceived meaning to a more negatively perceived meaning.
Example:
- silly = Old English: sǣlig – blessed; Modern English: silly - stupid
4. Regeneration/amelioration of meaning
The meaning of a word develops from a previously
negatively perceived meaning to a more positively perceived meaning.
Example:
- knight = Old English: cniht – boy, servant; Modern English: nobleman
5. Metaphorization
The literal meaning of a word gets a metaphorical meaning.
- the speaker connects two concepts/domains: e.g. foot = part of the body; meaning extended from lower part of the human body to other domains: the foot of the stairs, the foot of a mountain
- other metaphorical extensions: the eye of a needle, the mouth of a river, the head of a company
Example:
- to grasp = literal: Alan grasped the handle and pulled it; abstract: understand – some people find the idea of relativity difficult to grasp
