Definitions

• Semantic Change


  When a word's meaning changes

  (i.e. burn used to mean when something was burnt by something hot like fire; but now it also means when someone insults someone else)
• Polysemy


  when words have multiple semantic meanings

  (i.e. father means "a male parent" and "a person who has established of founded something"
• Amelioration


  A words develops to a more positive meaning

  
  

  (i.e. nice used to mean "foolish" but now means "kind")
• Pejoration


  a word develops a negative semantic meaning

  (i.e. silly used to mean "fortunate" but now means "unwise" or "foolish")
• Broadening


  a word that has come to have multiple meanings (i.e. bird used to mean "a bird animal" but now it can also mean "a woman")
• Narrowing


  A word used to have a wider meaning than it does now

  (i.e. meat used to mean "food" but now only applies to "flesh of an animal that is consumed")
• Political Correctness


  language change due to society changing its views

  (i.e. "disabled people" is not "people with disabilities")
• Metonymy


  a word that is associated with an object

  (i.e. "cash" used to mean "money box" but now means "change"
• Idiom


  sayings that do not have a literal meaning

  (i.e. "as happy as Larry")
• Euphemism


  phrases or words that are less direct or offensive

  (i.e."im going to freshen up" means "im going to the toilet")
• Cliche


  overused phrases that are well known

  (i.e. "think outside the box")
• diachronic


  study of history and evolution of language
• Synchronic


  study of language at one particular moment in time.
• Archaism


  words that have fallen out of common usage
• Obsolete


  words which are no longer used or useful
• Loan words


  words that are directly borrowed from another language
• Affixation


  new prefixes or suffixes are added to existing words to create a new meaning
• Compounding


  combining two separate words to create a new word