Living languages, such as English, are continually changing. This change may involve different pronunciations; different grammatical structures; the adoption and invention of new words. One of the common forms of change deals with semantics: that is, words can change their meaning through time. Semantic change can involve generalization in which a word’s meaning becomes broader and more generic and it can involve narrowing in which a word’s meaning becomes narrower and more specialized.
Generalization:
There are many examples in English of semantic change through generalization. For example, the term “aroma” originally referred to the smell of spices and over time became used to refer to good smells in general. The English word “aroma” was adopted in the thirteenth century and comes from the Greek “aroma” meaning “seasoning, spice, or sweet herb.” By 1841 its meaning had generalized to “fragrance.”
Another interesting case of generalization can be seen in the meaning of “nepotism.” The English word “nepotism” comes from the French “népotisme” which comes from the Italian “nepotismo” which comes from the Italian “nepote” meaning “nephew” which is from the Latin “nepotem” meaning “grandson or nephew.” The word originally referred to the popes’ practice of granting privileges to their “nephews,” which was a euphemism for their natural sons. Thus “nepotism” has gone from a narrow meaning to the broad meaning of favoring any relative, not just a nephew or illegitimate son. Notice that it has also broadened in meaning from “male” to be used to mean both male and female.
Another interesting example is “escape” which came into English from the Latin “excappāre” in which “ex” meant “out” and “cappa” meant cloak. Its original meaning meant “to uncloak” or to get undressed. Over time, “escape” broadened to mean “to get free from detention.”
One of the interesting problems regarding semantic shift towards generalization involves companies and their trademarked names. Trademarks are, of course, names that are owned by companies and the trademark gives them the exclusive right to use the name. When a company’s product or service becomes popular, the trademarked name is often generalized and may undergo grammatical change to allow it to become used as a verb. Some common examples of this can be seen in trademarks such as Xerox® (people will talk about “xeroxing” instead of “photocopying”); Google® (as in “I’m going to google that”); Kleenex® (often used to refer to any facial tissue, not just the Kleenex® brand).
Other examples of the generalization of words which had once been trademarked include: aspirin, granola, cellophane, linoleum, thermos, escalator, yo-yo, and dumpster. This list is illustrative, not inclusive.
Narrowing:
In some instances, a word may go through a semantic change in which its meaning which goes from a general meaning to a narrower, more specific meaning. The English word “girl,” for example, originally referred to a child without reference to gender. Over time, the meaning of the word narrowed to “female child.” The English word “girl” is from the Old English “*gyrele.” At this time the term for a male child was “knave-gerlys.”
Another example can be seen with “meat” which comes from the Old English “mete” which simply meant “food.” By about 1300, the meaning had narrowed to “flesh used as food.”
The English word “starve” comes from the Proto-Germanic “*sterban” which meant “to be stiff” which then became the Old English “steorfan” meaning “to die.” The meaning over time narrowed to “die of cold” and by 1520 it had narrowed to mean “to kill with hunger.”