Changes in meaning

abcd EXTENSION: place guy alibi NARROWING: hounds deer meat wife. DEGENERATION: silly lewd naughty stink villain homely knave. REGENERATION: nice brave fond. EXTENSION: Its the widening of a word until it covers more than the original idea.
PLACE : a square, market. Now it means any place. GUY : derived from GUY FAWKES, gunpowder plot against Parliament in Britain. It was synonym of stupid person, then in North America. It was given the meaning of fellow, pal. ALIBI : From Latin: person who was somewhere else at the time of the crime. Now it means any excuse.

NARROWING: Words whose meanings have become narrower.

HOUNDS : In Chaucers times it meant dogs in general. Now only dogs for hunting. DEER : In Shakespeares times it meant all kinds of animals. Now it means ciervo. MEAT: Before: all kinds of food and meat. Now: the flesh of animals you eat. WIFE: Originally any woman. Now, husbands woman. The Wives from Bath

DEGENERATION: The meaning of this word has been lowered, a less favorable one than it originally had.
SILLY : Originally blessed. Then blessed fools, now fool. LEWD : Originally laity (not a priest yet), then unlearned, ignorant. Now someone who is fond of pornography & sex. NAUGHTY : poor, one who had nought . Now disobedient. STINK: Neutral word for smell. Now, bad smell. VILLAIN: Inhabitant of a village. Now: bad person. HOMELY: Having to do with home. Now, without taste, ugly. KNAVE: It used to mean boy, now someone who cheats.

REGENERATION: It is the rising of the meaning of word. The meaning has been improved.
NICE : From nescious, ignorant. Now, pleasant, positive connotation. BRAVE : Crooked, dishonest. Now: physical courage. FOND: Foolish, fool. Now: like, Im fond of...

Cultural Levels:

Spoken Standard: educated people Written Standard: Books, poetry, prose. Vulgar/Illiterate: Rich in Slang.

Clipped words: Words that come from the beginning or the end of a parent word.
Flu: influenza ad: advertising Phone: telephone bike bicycle Doc: doctor Cop: copper.

PD: post data / BO: box office WO: walk over.

Oaths: distorted words from its original form to soften the effect.
Gosh: God / Gee: Jesus / Darned: / Sblood: Gods blood

Rhyming Slang: Dialectal words or phrases.

Cat & mouse: house Rolls Royce: Voice Gates of Rome: Home Trouble & strife: wife Oxford Schollar: dollar

Spoonerism: Expressions in which the 1st. Sounds of 2 words have changed

places, usually with a funny result:

Tons & soils: Sons of toil Minister of Wealth & Hellfare: Health & Wellfare Its customary to cuss the bride: Its customary to kiss the bride.

Malapropism: Humorous misuse of words. Incorrect word which sounds like the
intended one.
In such a manner that infected everybody. (affected) Do you assinuate that Im old enough? (insinuate) Ill indite you. (invite) Im convicted. (convinced)

Brief Summary of Vocabulary throughout the 3 Periods.

OLD ENGLISH vocabulary was smaller than today and it consisted of words from TEUTONIC ORIGIN. On a very small scale even in Old English the habit of borrowing existed. We find:
Non Teutonic words: Celtic Words Latin Words Scandinavian Words French Words.

The Celtic Influence is felt in:

PLACE NAMES: Towns, rivers and mountains. E.g.: London Dover Manchester Dorchester Thames Avon Dee Severn Penines -

The Latin Influence is felt in:

Greatest Non-Teutonic element in Old English. Divided into 3 periods.

CONTINENTAL BORROWINGS: strata: street weall: wall mil: mile mynet: coin pondus: weight . FOOD: win: wine cese: cheese butere: butter. RELIGION: cirice: church biscop: bishop. LATIN INFLUENCE OF THE 1ST PERIOD: The most important word in Old English is CEASTER (camp), which appears in place names: Chester Lancaster Dorchester. Another word in PORTUS (port) Portsmouth. LATIN INFLUENCE OF THE 2ND PERIOD: We have here the Christianizing of Britain by Pope Gregory the Great. We find contribution in RELIGIOUS TERMS: abbot angel chalice candle disciple martyr mass monk nun organ pope priest psalm school temple.

Home roof door ground man woman child horse sheep father mother brother son daughter body - hand - arm head foot life death God heaven hell fiend sorry love hate world earth sun moon stars.

Every day conversation words remained Teutonic:

One feature of Old English is the use of KENNINGARDS, poetical device in which an object is described in an indirect manner.
Whales path: sea Leavings of hammers: sword Air helmet: fog The song of the sword: battle

Words from French origin: cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew, grand-. Food: dead animals and animals alive. Government: duke count countess. Scandinavian Influence seen in: Days of the week. Place names.
Ending by: Rugby Derby Whitby By means farm or town. Ending Thorp: Athorp Bishopsthorpe Linthorpe. Thorp means: village. Ending Toft: Brimtoft Nortoft Langtoft. Ending Thwaite: Applethwaite Langthwaite. Ending son: Patronymics: Stevenson Anderson Johnson. The English equivalent is ing: Browning Golding.

Scandinavian SK is Old English SC. Scandinavian kept SK: sky skin skill skirt. English: scatter shatter. OE: skip ship Fisk fish. Old English retained Scandinavian hard pronunciation of G: give get egg goat. Pronouns THEY THEM are from Scandinavian origin. Plural ARE is a significant adoption, the same as the words BOTH & SAME, TILL & THOUGH