ENGL 202
Prof. G. Steinberg
Lexicon
Identify the kind of semantic shift (generalization, specialization, metaphor, pejoration, or amelioration) that has taken place in the following words.
| Word | Original Meaning | Type of Change |
|
moody
|
"brave" | |
|
uncouth
|
"unfamiliar" | |
|
accident
|
"an event" | |
|
ordeal
|
"trial by torture" | |
|
crane
|
"a bird with a long neck and bill" | |
|
hussy
|
"housewife" | |
|
carry
|
"transport by cart" | |
|
shrewd
|
"wicked" | |
|
catalyst
|
"a chemical agent that facilitates a chemical reaction" | |
|
picture
|
"a painted likeness" | |
|
argue
|
"make clear" | |
|
grumble
|
"make low sounds" |
Look up the following words in the Oxford English Dictionary or in another dictionary that gives the dates that words entered the English language. Put the words in the order that they entered the English lexicon. What do you notice about the order of the words? What correlation is there between how long a word has been in English and what kind of smell it refers to? What does this tell you about the tendency of meaning to shift? In which direction does it tend to shift? Click here to go to the online Oxford English Dictionary.
- aroma
- odor
- perfume
- scent (n.)
- smell (v.)
- stench (n.)
- stink (v.)
Divide each of the following words into its constituent morphemes. Separate inflections from derivational morphemes.
| Word | Root | Inflections | Derivational Morphemes |
| mother's | |||
| begotten | |||
| misconceives | |||
| classroom | |||
| coffee | |||
| heard | |||
| toys | |||
| tiny | |||
| saw | |||
| unproductive | |||
| bookshops | |||
| listened | |||
| bearded | |||
| covered | |||
| buildings | |||
| cutting | |||
| kitten's | |||
| improbability | |||
| tidiest | |||
| disarms | |||
| untidiness | |||
| reassessment | |||
| fatherly | |||
| repayment | |||
| unremarkable | |||
| children's | |||
| fresheners | |||
| unamusing | |||
| calculating | |||
| mysterious | |||
| forewarned | |||
| unpretentiousness | |||
| flakier |
Click here to go to the course syllabus.