Theme №2 Semasiology and Phraseology Semasiology. Types of word meaning. Change of meaning. Polysemy

Narrowing of meaning is the restriction of the semantic capacity of a word in the historical development, e.g. in Old English the word (ОЕ hlǽfdize) denoted the mistress of the house, i. e. any married woman. Later, a new meaning developed which was much narrower in range: “the wife or daughter of a baronet” (aristocratic title). In Modern English the word lady can be applied to any woman, so that its range of meaning is even broader than that of the OE hlǽfdize. In Modern English the difference between girl and lady in the meaning of woman is that the first is used in colloquial style and sounds familiar whereas the second is more formal and polite.
Here are some more examples of narrowing of meaning:
Deer: any beast → a certain kind of beast
Meat: any food → a certain food product
Boy: any young person of the male sex → servant of the male sex
It should be pointed out once more that in all these words the second meaning developed through transference based on contiguity, and that when we speak of them as examples of narrowing of meaning we simply imply that the range of the second meaning is more narrow than that of the original meaning.


5.2. Elevation and degradation of meaning of a word.
Elevation (or melioration) is the semantic change in the word which rises it from humble beginning to a position of greater importance, e.g. minister in earlier times meant merely “a servant”.
Degradation (or degeneration) is the semantic change, by which, for one reason or another, a word falls into disrepute, or acquires some derogatory emotive charge, e.g. silly originally meant “happy”.
These terms are open to question because they seem to imply that meanings can become “better” or “worse” which is neither logical nor plausible. But, as a matter-of-fact, scholars using these terms do not actually mean the degeneration or elevation of meaning itself, but of the referent onto which a word is transferred, so that the term is inaccurate:
Knave: boy → swindler, scoundrel
Villain: farm-servant, serf → base, vile person
Gossip: god parent → the one who talks scandal; tells slanderous stories about other people
These examples show that the second meaning, in contrast with the one from which it developed, denotes a person of bad repute or character. Semantically speaking, the second meaning developed a negative evaluative connotation which was absent in the first meaning. Such a readjustment in the connotative structure accompanying the process of transference can be sometimes observed in other parts of speech, and not only in nouns:
Silly: happy → foolish
In the following examples the situation is reversed: the first meaning has a negative evaluative connotation, and the second meaning has not. It is difficult to see what is actually “elevated” here. Certainly, not the meaning of the word:
Fond: foolish → loving, affectionate
Nice: foolish → fine, good
Tory: brigand, highwayman → member of the Tories
Knight: manservant → noble, courageous man
UA контора → офіс
управління → менеджмент
посильний →кур'єр
In the case of Tory, the first meaning has a pronounced negative connotation which is absent in the second meaning. Semantically speaking, the first meaning is just as good as the second, and the difference lies only in the connotative structure.
The case of knight, if treated linguistically, is quite opposite to that of Tory: the second meaning acquired a positive evaluative connotation that was absent in the first meaning. So, here, once more, we are faced with a mere readjustment of the connotative components of the word.
There are also some traditional examples of “elevation” in which even this readjustment cannot be traced:
Marshal: manservant attending horses → the highest rank in the army
Lord: master of the house, head of the family → baronet (aristocratic title)
Lady: mistress of the house, married woman → wife or daughter of baronet
In these three words the second meaning developed due to the process of transference based on contiguity. Lord and lady are also examples of narrowing of meaning if we compare the range of the original and of the resultant meanings. No connotations of evaluation can be observed in either of the meanings.
Thus, the change in the denotational component brings about the extension or the restriction of meaning. The change in the connotational component may result in the degradation − pejorative or ameliorative development of meaning.