Semantic changes

The meaning of a word can change in the course of time. Changes of lexical meanings can be proved by comparing contexts of different times. Transfer of the meaning is called lexico-semantic word-building. In such cases the outer aspect of a word does not change.
The causes of semantic changes can be extra-linguistic and linguistic, e.g. the change of the lexical meaning of the noun «pen» was due to extra-linguistic causes. Primarily «pen» comes back to the Latin word «penna» (a feather of a bird). As people wrote with goose pens the name was transferred to steel pens which were later on used for writing. Still later any instrument for writing was called « a pen».

Foreword………………………………………………………………………………....3

Chapter I. Semantic changes. Types of Semantic changes……………………………... 4

1.Definition………………………………………………… ……… … ……….4
2.Metaphor………………………………………………………………………7
3.Metonymy……………………………………………………………………...9
4.Other types of Semantic changes…………………………………………….. 10
Chapter II. Causes of semantic change…...……………………………………… … …12

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………15

Literature…………………………………………………………………………...……16