# Dear Duolingo: How does a word’s meaning change over time? All words have a history—but some have a more colorful past than others! _Welcome to another week of Dear Duolingo, an advice column just for learners. Catch up on past installments_ [_here_](https://blog.duolingo.com/tag/dear-duolingo/) _._ Hi again, fellow language learners! You have such amazing questions about language change, and I’m delighted to answer this one about how words can gain—and lose—their meanings over the centuries. Let’s take a look! ### Our question this week: What a great question! And you’re onto something—while [language change is constant](https://blog.duolingo.com/why-do-languages-change/) and largely unpredictable, there are absolutely some patterns we see over time and [across languages](https://blog.duolingo.com/sound-change-patterns/). Here are some of the most common ways that words change their meaning! Learn the history of: - [eavesdropper](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#eavesdropper) - [arena](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#arena) - [mouse](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#mouse) - [clue](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#clue) - [arrive](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#arrive) - [bird](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#bird) - [meat](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#meat) - [hound](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#hound) - [dial](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#dial) - [hang up](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#hang-up) - [insult](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#insult) - [soon](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#soon) - [decimate](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#decimate) - [will](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#will) - [sinister](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#sinister) - [villain](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#villain) - [prestigious](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#prestigious) - [knight](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/#knight) ## Change to refer to something nearby This first type of change is called _metonymy_, which comes from a Greek word meaning roughly “a change of name.” It’s when a word takes on the meaning of something else that’s nearby or closely associated with it. **Word:** eavesdropper **What it used to mean:** water that fell from the roof (or _eaves_) of a house **What happened:** This word’s meaning actually went through more than one change in the 500 or so years that it’s been in use! First, it referred to the water itself that fell from a house’s roof, then to the ground that the water landed on, and finally to its current meaning—from the idea of a person taking cover under the eaves of a house to surreptitiously listen to what’s happening inside! **Word:** arena **What it used to mean:** sand **What happened:** The word _arena_ comes from the Latin word for _sand_, which was one component of ancient Roman arenas—it was used to cover the central surface of an arena floor where combat took place. (If you speak Spanish, you know that the Spanish word _arena_ still means _sand_!) ## From concrete to abstract This type of change is called _metaphor_, and it comes from a Greek word meaning _carry over_. You probably know plenty of metaphors used in literature (Shakespeare’s “All the world’s a stage” is a famous one), but this literary device can also transform a word’s meaning permanently! **Word:** mouse **What it used to mean:** a cute little rodent 🐭 (or a pest, if they’re in your house uninvited) **What happened:** You may have already made the connection between the little whiskered animal and the computer device! Even though we still use the original meaning of _mouse_, this word gained an extra meaning in the late 20th century as computers became more common, due to the computer accessory that it (somewhat) resembles. **Word:** clue **What it used to mean:** ball of yarn **What happened:** If you think back to the last time you had to find your way out of a cave or labyrinth (no? just me?), then you might see how the word _clue_ went from meaning “a ball of yarn” to meaning any piece of information or evidence that can help you figure out a tricky situation—a figurative ball of yarn leading you to the right answer! ## From specific to more general Sometimes, a word’s meaning “widens” to include more things than it used to! This is called _generalization_. **Word:** arrive **What it used to mean:** to reach the shore via water **What happened:** Today, the English verb _arrive_ (and the French verb _arriver_ that it came from) can refer to getting anywhere by any mode of transport, rather than just arriving to the shore after a journey over the water. The connection to its former meaning is a little more obvious in French, though: Compare _arriver_ to the word [_rive_](https://blog.duolingo.com/8-french-phrases-for-visiting-paris/), meaning _riverbank_! **Word:** bird **What it used to mean:** a recently-hatched bird or fledgling **What happened:** The word _bird_ was originally _brid_ in Old English (this is [a common sound change](https://blog.duolingo.com/sound-change-patterns/#5-sounds-switch-places)!), and it used to refer only to young birds before it generalized to mean an avian of any age. 🐣 ## From general to more specific The opposite of generalization, this is when a word’s meaning narrows or shrinks to include fewer things than before. It’s called _specialization_. **Word:** meat **What it used to mean:** food of any kind **What happened:** _Meat_ used to refer to food in general, not just the edible part of an animal. You might recognize the similarity between _meat_ in English and _mat_, the word for _food_ in Swedish and Norwegian, or _mad_, the word in Danish! **Word:** hound **What it used to mean:** a dog of any breed **What happened:** _Hound_ used to refer to all dogs before it became specific to certain breeds of hunting dogs. Again, if you know any other [Germanic languages](https://blog.duolingo.com/history-of-english-language/#isn%E2%80%99t-english-a-romance-language), you might notice that this change didn’t happen everywhere: _Hond_ in Dutch and Afrikaans, _Hund_ in German, and _hund_ in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish all still mean _dog_. ## Changes in technology Sometimes, a term takes on new meanings to adapt to our changing world, and people may or may not be aware of its origin! **Word:** dial **What it used to mean:** to turn or rotate something **What happened:** The word _dial_ (as in _dial a phone number_) originally referred to something that turned, such as the shadow of a sundial, the needle of a compass, the hands of a clock, or the dial on a rotary phone. Even though rotary phones gave way to keypads and eventually to touchscreens, the verb _dial_ stuck around—long after we stopped using rotating parts to enter a phone number! **Word:** hang up **What it used to mean:** to suspend above the ground **What happened:** Similar to _dial_, the verb _hang up_ used to have a literal meaning: It comes from the days when we used to actually suspend the telephone receiver to end a call. Now, most of us just tap a red circle on our screen. You can’t *dial* a number or *hang up* the phone anymore… or can you? ## Meanings become less intense This type of change, called _hyperbole_ (whose pronunciation may surprise you if you’ve never heard it before: hyperbole), is when a word is used in exaggerated contexts frequently enough that it actually begins to mean a “lighter” version of its former definition! **Word:** insult **What it used to mean:** to jump on **What happened:** English got this word from French around the 16th century, which got it from Latin _insultare_, literally _on_ + _to jump_! It’s kind of like the boy who cried wolf: If your dramatic friend complains enough times that his sworn enemy “jumped on him” when all they really did was say something mean, you’re eventually going to understand that _jump on_ doesn’t mean he was physically attacked. You can still see traces of the Latin verb _saltare_ in several Romance languages: _saltar_ in Spanish, _saltare_ in Italian, _sauter_ in French, and _sări_ in Romanian all mean _jump_! **Word:** soon **What it used to mean:** immediately **What happened:** We all know someone who’s chronically late (or maybe that person is you… 🫣), so you’ll probably have no trouble imagining how the word _soon_ went from meaning “immediately” to “at some point in the near future.” ## Meanings become more intense The opposite of hyperbole, this type of change (called _meiosis_) is when a word’s meaning becomes stronger. **Word:** decimate **What it used to mean:** to reduce by one-tenth **What happened:** English borrowed this word from Latin _decimātus_, and you can see the relationship between this word and the English word _decimal_! The first record of _decimate_ in English dates back to the 17th century, and it only took a few **dec** ades (another word where we see the [_dec‑_ prefix for _ten_](https://blog.duolingo.com/different-counting-base-systems/)!) before its new meaning (“to drastically reduce or destroy”) had caught on. **Word:** will **What it used to mean:** to want to **What happened:** Imagine being certain enough that things will go your way that saying something like _I want to get an A_ essentially means _I will get an A_! This is an oversimplification of how the word _will_ came to mean something far more definite than simply _want_, but that’s the general idea. (In German, by the way, the word _will_ hasn’t changed meaning: _Ich will_ means _I want_!) ## A word’s meaning gets worse This process is called _pejoration_, and it’s when a word gains a more negative connotation over time. **Word:** sinister **What it used to mean:** left **What happened:** [The left side is taboo](https://blog.duolingo.com/word-for-left-language-taboo/) in many cultures, and this meaning change is an example of centuries-old negative attitudes surrounding the left hand and the left side of the body in general. The word _sinister_ originally comes from Latin, and the present-day Italian word _sinistra_ means both _left_ and _sinister_! **Word:** villain **What it used to mean:** a peasant or farmhand **What happened:** _Villain_ used to refer to one of the lowest classes of laborers in feudal Europe (and also to the fact that they were residents of a _villa_!). People who belonged to this class were sometimes the target of negative stereotypes based solely on their societal role—for example, the idea that they were particularly prone to evil behavior, just like our present-day definition of _villain_! ## A word’s meaning gets better This last process—called _amelioration_—is the opposite of pejoration: A word’s meaning becomes more positive! **Word:** prestigious **What it used to mean:** something done by deceit or illusion (like a magic trick) **What happened:** Compared to many of the examples we’ve cited, the shift in meaning of _prestigious_ is much more recent: It only gained its current, positive meaning around the early 20th century—maybe from the idea that using trickery or deceit is necessary for improving your reputation? **Word:** knight **What it used to mean:** boy or servant **What happened:** _Knight_ evolved from the [Old English](https://blog.duolingo.com/history-of-english-language/#what-was-old-english-like) word _cniht_ (that’s right, it wasn’t spelled any closer to how we pronounce it back then, either!) when it changed from meaning _boy_ or _servant_ to a boy or young man who served a king, often as a soldier. It was from this meaning that it became an official military rank, and now it can mean an honorary title awarded without any military service at all! ## Change doesn’t happen overnight Before words change meaning completely, there’s often a period of time (possibly lasting centuries!) when they have both meanings, so you can actually see language change in action. Are there any you’ve noticed that seem to be currently taking place in your language? How do your predictions line up with our predictions for the future of [English](https://blog.duolingo.com/english-language-predictions/), [Spanish](https://blog.duolingo.com/spanish-language-predictions/), [French](https://blog.duolingo.com/french-language-predictions/), and [German](https://blog.duolingo.com/german-language-predictions/)?