词汇学PPT课件.pptx

Types of Change
Extension of Meaning
Narrowing of Meaning
Elevation of Meaning
Degradation of Meaning
Transference of Meaning
Euphemism
Strengthening and weakening of meaning
第1页/共21页
Extension of Meaning词义的扩大
Extension of meaning ,also known as generalization（普遍化）, is the name given to the widening of meaning which some words undergo.
第2页/共21页
Word
Old Meaning
Extended Meaning
handwriting
writing by hand
by hand or typed with a type-writer
mill
place for grinding grain into flour
place where things are made
butcher
one who kills goats
one who kills animals
For example:
第3页/共21页
A large proportion of polysemic words of modern English have their meanings extended sometime in the course of development. Some words are generalized to such an extent that they can mean almost anything.
Thing, for example, which used to mean‵ a public assembly ‵or ‵a council‵ in Anglo-Saxon times, now can refer to any object or event.
第4页/共21页
Generalization of meaning is also found in many technical terms, which as terms suggests are confined to specialized use.
For example, allergic ,a medical term in the sense of ‘to sensitive to medicine’, which now is used for ‘averse or disinclined to’.

Words commonized from proper names have experienced the same process. For example, lynch , Sandwich .
第5页/共21页
Lynch, used as a noun meaning ‘kill without lawful trial’, originates from William Lynch(1742—1820),member of a vigilance committee in Pittsylvania (皮茨尔瓦尼亚县）Virginia, who made the law known as Lynch ’s law（林奇定律）.
Sandwich comes from a gambler’s name to denote a kind of fast food, and now can be used as a verb meaning ‘place or squeeze between ’.
第6页/共21页
Narrowing of Meaning词义的缩小
Narrowing of meaning ,also called specialization（具体化）, is the opposite of widening meaning. In other words, a word which used to have a more general sense becomes restricted in its application and conveys a special concept i