Term
|
Definition
| is the process by which a word’s meaning improves over time. For example, the word naughty, a derivation of naught (zero), used to mean morally bad or wicked or even worthless. Over time, naughty has ameliorated to meaning mischievous or irresponsibly playful. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| is the process by which a word’s meaning worsens over time. For example, the wordvillain, which now means thief or scoundrel, originally meant peasant. The word silly used to mean simple and blessed but now is synonymous with foolish. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Words perceived as dangerous and consequently replaced by euphemisms |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| words and phrases that are translated word-for-word from the foreign language. For example, “it goes without saying”, is a calque of the French phrase ça va sans dire. The Latin word evangelium (good news) was calqued into god-spel, which became gospel. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The shift in pronunciation often used by linguists to separate Middle English from modern English; for unknown reasons, English speakers in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance shifted the location within the mouth where they articulated long vowels. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| (1027-1087) Conquered England in 1066; historians use this invasion to mark the change from Anglo-Saxon to Middle English. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Arriving in England in 1343 (and repeatedly thereafter for several centuries), the bubonic plague killed roughly one-third of the English population, particularly in centers of learning such as cities and monasteries. |
|
|
Term
| marked the transition from Middle English to modern English |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| the close of the Middle English period |
|
Definition
| In 1476, William Caxton brought the printing press to England. This led to the standardization of language, especially spelling, and an enormous increase in literacy. In 1485, Henry the VII ended the War of the Roses and united England under the Tudor Dynasty. Political stability launched a new era for England and the English language. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| (1422?-1491) In 1476 brought the printing press to England after working in printing in Cologne, Germany, thereby initiating the standardization of English; the first book printed in English was his edition of the French romance, The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye |
|
|
Term
| Which event ushered in the standardization of English? |
|
Definition
| The arrival of the printing press in England |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| in the sixteenth century, a derogatory term for a word coined in English from Latin or Greek roots and meant to sound erudite and scholarly; now an obscure term roughly synonymous with pedantic. Some inkhorn terms that became a part of mainstream English include educate, mundane, celebrate, confidence, and verbosity |
|
|
Term
| Two works printed during this time helped to further standardize the English language |
|
Definition
| the King James Bible (1611) and Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language (1755). |
|
|
Term
| Dictionary of the English Language, A |
|
Definition
| (1755) Samuel Johnson's magnum opus, the first major English dictionary, and one that helped to standardize the language. It is notable for its wit and compendiousness, containing over 40,000 entries. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Wrote An American Dictionary of the English Language in1828, which helped legitimize American English and establish standards for it |
|
|
Term
| American Dictionary of the English Language, An |
|
Definition
| Noah Webster's innovative early dictionary of American English; from motives both nationalist and scholarly, Webster espoused American phonetic usages and spellings, in particular substituting –or for –our endings, –se for –ce, –ck for –que, and –er for –re. His belief that the written language should reflect the spoken language, rather than vice verse, was a forerunner of current descriptivist approaches to lexicography. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A language change process by which the meaning of one word supplants another word; bead: from the Anglo-Saxon word for prayer, since people prayed on telling beads similar to Catholic rosaries. This is an example of a |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A language change process in which a word that identifies a group or a nation to others becomes the word by which they are called; cockney: from the phrase cock’s egg. The phrase was originally a negative term used by strong countrymen when referring to weaker townsmen. Through popular usage, the word cockney has come to mean a person from London. This is an example of an |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Linguistics: A language change process in which a very specific word gains a more general meaning; holiday: from the compound holy-day, originally used to designate special religious days. This is an example of |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A language change process by which a word with a general meaning becomes very specific; hound : from the word for dog. This is an example of |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A language change process by which the original words lose their form because speakers no longer remember the significance of them;
- lord: from a compound meaning loaf keeper. This is an example of ?????, in that the connection between the root and the meaning became too wide to maintain.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A phrase whose significance comes from general usage or convention rather than the literal definition of the words that comprise it; a phrase whose significance is determined by a specific culture and which therefore cannot be translated --Rub someone the wrong way |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| From Swedish, meaning “a buffet or a varying mixture” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| delight or pleasure, from the Latindelectare, to delight |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The meaning of a word according to its literal definition |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The meaning suggested by a word beyond its literal definition. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| From Greek homo "same" andgraphein "to write;" words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and pronunciations |
|
|
