Symantic Changes in Meaning

Question 1

Generalization or Broadening

Answer 1

Holidays meaning broadened to meaning and celebration day and not just a holy day. Stuff meant provisions but was broadened to mean anything.

Question 2

Specialization or Narrowing

Answer 2

corn meant grain but narrowed to mean maize. Tell meant to count, report or explain but then lost the definition of count. Still left in our language as a teller.

Question 3

Amelioration

Answer 3

Meaning gets better: admiration meant anything causing you to be in amazement whether good or bad.

Question 4

Pajoration

Answer 4

Meaning gets worse. Rude meant uneducated. Mean meant humble or poor

Question 5

Transfer of Meaning

Answer 5

Scholar meant student, bead meant prayer, driving the carriage transferred its meaning to drive the car.

Question 6

Morphological Merging

Answer 6

two seperate words merge together taking on both meanings or dropping one of them. Leornian meant to learn and laran meant to teach. This combined to the word learn.

Question 7

Reinterpretation and Folk Etymology

Answer 7

Hamburg in hamburger is a city and not ham. Bikini is an island and not a 2 piece suit.