Types of change

neosemy - the process whereby a new meaning develops for an existing word

• broadening - meanings broaden so it retains its old meaning but takes on added meaning

  • surfing - the sport and surfing the web

• narrowing - word becomes more specific in meaning

  • in old english “mete” referred to food, but now it refers specifically to food of animal flesh

• amelioration - over time a word acquires a more pleasant/positive meaning

  • pretty used to mean sly/cunning, now is a way to compliment the way someone looks

• pejoration - over time a word becomes less favourable

  • villain used to mean farm worker/peasant now means a person will ill-intentions

• weakening - the loss/reduction of the force of meaning of a word

  • thing in old english referred to a meeting or assembly, now refers to unspecified objects

• metaphor - phsyical ideas can be extended to abstract ones with similar qualities

  • grasp - to physically grasp or to graps an idea

• euphemism - the creation of polite but roundabout expressions for things that may be considered unpleasant

  • downsizing - used to refer to making redundancies

neologism - the process of creating new words

• borrowing - borrowing a word from another language

  • deja-vu - french

• compounding - combining two words that remain full formed

  • toothpaste

• clipping - removing parts of a word to shorten it

  • gymnasium - gym

• blending - taking two words and blending them together, you loose part of the word

  • hungry + angry = hangry

• affixation - adding prefixes and suffixes to words

  • regift - re + gift

• conversion - a word that shifts from one word class to another, usually a noun to a verb

  • text, google

• scientific progress - a new invention/advancement needs a new name

  • chemotherapy

  • malware