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Semantic change (also semantic shift, semantic progression or semantic drift) is the evolution of word usage — usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage. In diachronic (or historical) linguistics, semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a word. Every word has a variety of senses and connotations, which can be added, removed, or altered over time, often to the extent that cognates across space and time have very different meanings. The study of semantic change can be seen as part of etymology, onomasiology, semasiology, and semantics. ==Examples== * Awful—Originally meant "inspiring wonder (or fear)". Used originally as a shortening for "full of awe", in contemporary usage the word usually has negative meaning. * Demagogue—Originally meant "a popular leader". It is from the Greek ''dēmagōgós'' "leader of the people", from ''dēmos'' "people" + ''agōgós'' "leading, guiding". Now the word has strong connotations of a politician who panders to emotions and prejudice. * Egregious—Originally described something that was remarkably good. The word is from the Latin ''egregius'' "illustrious, select", literally, "standing out from the flock", which is from ''ex''—"out of" + ''greg''—(''grex'') "flock". Now it means something that is remarkably bad or flagrant. * Guy—Guy Fawkes was the alleged leader of a plot to blow up the English Houses of Parliament on 5 Nov. 1605. The day was made a holiday, Guy Fawkes day, commemorated by parading and burning a ragged, grotesque effigy of Fawkes, known as a ''Guy''. This led to the use of the word ''guy'' as a term for any "person of grotesque appearance" and then by the late 1800s—especially in the United States—for "any man", as in, e.g., "Some ''guy'' called for you." Over the 20th century, ''guy'' has replaced ''fellow'' in the U.S., and, under the influence of American popular culture, has been gradually replacing ''fellow'', ''bloke'', ''chap'' and other such words throughout the rest of the English-speaking world. In the plural, it can refer to a mixture of genders (e.g., "Come on, you guys!" could be directed to a group of men and women). * Gay—Originally meant (13th century) "lighthearted", "joyous" or (14th century) "bright and showy", it also came to mean "happy"; it acquired connotations of immorality as early as 1637, either sexual e.g., ''gay woman'' "prostitute", ''gay man'' "womanizer", ''gay house'' "brothel", or otherwise, e.g., ''gay dog'' "over-indulgent man" and ''gay deceiver'' "deceitful and lecherous". In the United States by 1897 the expression ''gay cat'' referred to a hobo, especially a younger hobo in the company of an older one; by 1935, it was used in prison slang for a homosexual boy; and by 1951 and clipped to ''gay'', referred to homosexuals. (George Chauncey, in his book Gay New York, would put this shift as early as the late 19th century among a certain "in crowd" knowledgeable of gay night life.) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Semantic change」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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