Semantic Shifts
The semantic field of a given word shifts over time — see "semantic shift." For example, the English word "man" used to mean "human being" exclusively, while today it predominantly means "adult male," but its semantic field still extends in some uses to the generic "human" (see Mannaz).
Overlapping semantic fields are problematic, especially in translation. Words that have multiple meanings (called polysemous words) are often untranslatable, especially with all their connotations. Such words are frequently loaned instead of translated. Examples include "chivalry" (literally "horsemanship," related to "cavalry"), "dharma" (literally, "support"), and "taboo."
Read more about this topic: Semantic Field
Famous quotes containing the words semantic and/or shifts:
“Watt’s need of semantic succour was at times so great that he would set to trying names on things, and on himself, almost as a woman hats.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)
“God is a foreman with certain definite views
Who orders life in shifts of work and leisure.”
—Seamus Heaney (b. 1939)