Analyzing Semantic Change: Categories and Linguistic Shifts

The Four Primary Types of Semantic Change

1. Generalization (Broadening)

A word that originally had a specific meaning becomes more general.

• Pigeon: At first meaning just the young dove, it became more general, referring to all pigeons (or sometimes specifically male pigeons).
• Guy: An eponym derived from Guy Fawkes. It was first used for someone grotesque, but now generally means 'man' or 'fellow'.

2. Specification (Narrowing)

The opposite process of generalization, where a word's meaning becomes more specific.

• Meat: Old English (OE) mete referred to food in general. Now it specifically refers to animal flesh.
• Engine: Originally any mechanical device (from Latin ingenium, meaning innate quality or clever invention). Now it refers specifically to a machine designed to convert energy into motion.

3. Melioration (Amelioration)

An improvement in the meaning or connotation of the word.

• Lean: Now often means thin in a positive way (e.g., “lean and fit”). It originally meant scanty or lacking nourishment (related to being malnourished). Note that the negative connotation persists in expressions like “the lean years.”

4. Pejoration (Deterioration)

The opposite of melioration, where the meaning of a word worsens or becomes negative.

• Awful: Derived from awe + full, meaning 'full of awe' (a measure of respect and fear, often a religious concept). Now it means terrible or extremely bad.
• Gay: Originally meaning 'joyful' or 'carefree'. Its shift to referring to homosexual individuals, and subsequent use in derogatory contexts, is an example of pejoration.

Other Specialized Categories of Semantic Change

1. Subreption

The etymological process of the word is obscured or taken away because there was a change in reference, often due to external factors.

• September, October, November, December: Etymologically, these names refer to the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months, respectively (based on the Roman calendar).
• Siesta: Derived from the Latin sexta hora (the sixth hour of the day), traditionally designated for a rest period.

2. Skeuomorphism

A change by which a term for a concept or object having a function is still kept in the language even though that function has changed or the original physical object is obsolete.

• Watch pockets in jeans: The small pocket remains even though pocket watches are rarely carried.
• Ring: We say the telephone “rings,” even though modern phones do not have physical bells.
• Give someone a bell: A phrase maintained despite the lack of physical bells.
• Hang up: We use this phrase even though modern telephones do not have hooks to physically hang the receiver on.
• Off the hook: A related idiom maintained from the era of physical telephone hooks.
• Bed linen: Today, these items are often made of cotton or synthetic materials, not necessarily linen.
• Type: We “type” on a keyboard, a term referring back to mechanical typewriters.
• Dial: We “dial” a number, even though modern phones use buttons or touchscreens, not rotary dials.

Related Linguistic Concepts and Word Formation

Hyponymy and Hyperonymy

These terms describe hierarchical relationships between words in a semantic field:

• Taxonomic Hyponymy: Canary, chicken, and penguin are types of birds, making them taxonomic hyponyms of the hyperonym bird.
• Functional Hyponymy: Food is a functional hyponym of chicken, because you can eat a chicken, but not all birds are eaten.
• Bus Hierarchy: Bus is a hyperonym of double-decker and single-decker. These specific types are co-hyponyms of each other. Coach is often considered a hyperonym of bus.

Morphological Processes (Word Formation)

Examples of how new words or forms are created:

• Endless: Suffixation, due to the addition of the suffix -less.
• Down: Conversion (or zero derivation), as the word can function as a Verb (V) or a Noun (N).
• Macroeconomics: Prefixation, using the prefix macro- (meaning global or large scale).
• Blue-eyed: A compound adjective, specifically endocentric, formed with two roots (blue and eye) and a suffix (-ed).