Semantic change

<p>Semantic change (also semantic shift, semantic progression, semantic development, or semantic drift) is a form of <a href="/facts/Language_change/ycYsECY0">language change</a> regarding the evolution of <a href="/facts/Word_usage/w1cqdXTa">word usage</a>—usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage. In <a href="/facts/Historical_linguistics/nj5y6HDR">diachronic (or historical) linguistics</a>, semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a <a href="/facts/Word_(linguistics)/JzXV6kWh">word</a>. Every word has a variety of <a href="/facts/Word_sense/9IR1286V">senses</a> and <a href="/facts/Connotations/6GMwFTn9">connotations</a>, which can be added, removed, or altered over time, often to the extent that <a href="/facts/Cognate/nXETf5Y4">cognates</a> across space and time have very different meanings. The study of semantic change can be seen as part of <a href="/facts/Etymology/18QG6y67">etymology</a>, <a href="/facts/Onomasiology/zpMIBeh6">onomasiology</a>, <a href="/facts/Semasiology/HeqUKapA">semasiology</a>, and <a href="/facts/Semantics/1L4WwLAP">semantics</a>.
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Semantic change open-in-new

Semantic change