Word meaning many uses

Meaning
– the reflection of an object, phenomenon, relations in a l-ge.
Types of meaning: 1) lexical (the reflection of a concept in a word
form – goes, went); 2) grammatical ( the reflection of the
relations of obj. in

the
forms of the word – asked, walked); 3) functional (classifies
words, parts of speech – export (n) & export (v). Lexical
meaning: 1) denotational (objective) – the ability of a word to
refer to an individual object; 2) significative (notional, identical)
– the ability of a word to generalize significant properties of
objects & to present them as abstract ideas); 3) connotational
(pragmatic) – the ability of a word to evoke & directly express
emotions; 4) conceptional – scientific meaning. Motivation – a
direct connection between the structure of the word & its
meaning. Types: 1) morphological (re-think – think again); 2) sound
symbolism (sounds associated with words: buzz – жужжать,
cuckoo – куковать); 3) semantic (based on metaphoric
transfer – heart-breaking, eye-wash – надувательство).

5. Change of meaning in English.

Word-meaning
is liable to change in the course of the historical development of
language. Causes
of Semantic Change

1. extra-linguistic
   — various
   changes in the life of the speech community, changes in economic and
   social structure, changes in ideas, scientific concepts, way of life
   and other spheres of human activities as reflected in word meanings

2. linguistic
   —.
   factors acting within the language system

• ellipsis
  (In
  a phrase made up of two words one of these is omitted and its
  meaning is transferred to its partner. The verb to
  starve, e.g.,
  in Old English had the meaning ‘to die’ and was habitually used
  in collocation with the word hunger.
  Already
  in the 16th century the verb itself acquired the meaning ‘to die
  )

• differentiation
  of synonyms
  (The
  word land,
  e.g.,
  in Old English (OE. land)
  meant
  both ’solid part of earth’s surface’ and ‘the territory of
  a nation’. When in the Middle English period the word country
  (OFr.
  contree)
  was
  borrowed as its synonym, the meaning of the word land
  was
  somewhat altered and ‘the territory of a
  nation’
  came to be denoted mainly by the borrowed word country)

• linguistic
  analogy
  — if one of the members of a synonymic set acquires a new meaning
  other members of this set change their meanings too. (e.g.,
  all English adverbs which acquired the meaning ‘rapidly’ always
  develop the meaning ‘immediately’, similarly verbs synonymous
  with catch,
  e.g. grasp, get, etc.,
  by semantic extension acquired another meaning —
  ‘to
  understand’)Nature
  of Semantic Change

Generally
speaking, a necessary condition of any semantic change, no matter
what its cause, is some connection, some association between the old
meaning and the new. There are two kinds of association involved as a
rule in various semantic changes namely:

1. Similarity
   of meanings or metaphor — a semantic process of associating two
   referents, one of which in some way resembles the other.
   The word hand,
   e.g.,
   acquired in the 16th century the meaning of ‘a pointer of a clock
   of a watch’ because of the similarity of one of the functions
   performed by the hand (to point at something) and the function of
   the clockpointer.

2. Contiguity
   of meanings or metonymy — the semantic process of associating two
   referents one of which makes part of the other or is closely
   connected with it. (the
   word tongue
   — ‘the
   organ of speech’ in the meaning of ‘language’ (as in mother
   tongue; cf.
   also L. lingua,
   Russ.
   язык).
   The
   word bench
   acquired
   the meaning ‘judges, magistrates’ because it was on the bench
   that
   the judges used to sit in law courts, similarly the
   House acquired
   the meaning of ‘members of the House’ (Parliament)).

Results
of semantic change
can be generally observed in the changes of the denotational meaning
of the word (restriction and extension of meaning) or in the
alteration of its connotational component (amelioration and
deterioration of meaning).Changes
in the denotational meaning

1. restriction
   of
   the types or range of referents denoted by the word (the
   word hound
   (OE. hund) which
   used to denote ‘a dog of any breed’ but now denotes only ‘a
   dog used in the chase’)

• specialisation
  of meaning — if the word with the new meaning comes to be used in
  the specialised vocabulary of some limited group within the speech
  community it is usual to speak of
  (the verb to
  glide (OE. glidan) which
  had the meaning ‘to move gently and smoothly’ and has now
  acquired a restricted and specialised meaning ‘to fly with no
  engine’ (cf. a
  glider))

1. extension
   of meaning—application of the word to a wider variety of
   referents.
   (the word target
   which
   originally meant ‘a small round shield’ (a diminutive of targe,
   сf.
   ON. targa) but
   now means ‘anything that is fired at’ and also figuratively ‘any
   result aimed at’)

• generalisation
  of
  
  meaning —
  the word with the extended meaning passes from the specialised
  vocabulary into common use
  (The
  word camp, which originally was used only as a military term and
  meant ‘the place where troops are lodged in tents’ extended and
  generalised its meaning and now denotes ‘temporary quarters’ (of
  travellers, nomads, etc.)

Changes
in the connotational meaning:

1. pejorativedevelopment
   — acquisition by the word of some derogatory emotive charge (the
   word boor
   was
   originally used to denote ‘a villager, a peasant’ and then
   acquired a derogatory, contemptuous connotational meaning and came
   to denote ‘a clumsy or ill-bred fellow’)

2. ameliorative
   development — improvement of the connotational component of
   meaning.. (the
   word minister
   which
   in one of its meanings originally denoted ‘a servant, an
   attendant’, but now —
   ‘a
   civil servant of higher rank, a person administering a department of
   state or accredited by one state to another’)

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