Lexis and Semantics

Euphemism and Dysphemism

• Softening or intensifying meaning.

• Soft for die - passed away

• Intensify for die - croaked

Hyponym and Hypernym

• Hyponym is a word that refers to a more specific item within a larger category

  • Dog is a hyponym of animal

  • Rose is a hyponym of flower

• Hypernyms are words that refer to a broader category that includes more specific subtypes

  • Animal is a hypernym for dog, elephant, zebra

  • Flower is a hypernym for rose, tulip, lily

Collocations

• Words that commonly appear together

  • Fast food

  • Salt and pepper

  • Investment banking

Lexical fields

• Groupings of related words

  • medical field: doctor, nurse, syringe

Metonymy

• Using associated words instead of another

  • The White House (government) issued a statement

  • He drives a Tesla

Idioms

• Fixed expressions with non-literal meanings

  • Spill the beans

Neologisms

• Newly coined words

  • Selfie, binge-watch, ghosting