Which option is a clear example of semantic drift?

• A. The Great Vowel Shift
• B. The standardisation of who and whom
• C. The Norman Conquest
• D. The word 'silly' once meant blessed

Answer: (D)

Semantic drift is when a word’s meaning changes over time. The example with silly shows this clearly: it used to mean blessed or happy, and over centuries its sense shifted to naive, then foolish. That movement in meaning is exactly what semantic drift looks like. The Great Vowel Shift is about pronunciation, not meaning, so it’s a phonological change. The standardisation of who and whom concerns usage norms rather than a change in word meaning. The Norman Conquest brought language contact and new vocabulary, but it isn’t illustrating a single word changing meaning over time.