Which term describes broadening of a word's meaning over time?

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Prepare for the AQA A-level English Language Test. Study with interactive quizzes on language change, complete with detailed explanations. Get ahead in your exam preparation today!

Multiple Choice

Which term describes broadening of a word's meaning over time?

Explanation:
Broadening is when a word’s meaning expands to cover a wider range of referents over time. Language users gradually apply the word to more things, not just its original scope. For example, mouse originally meant only the small rodent and now also refers to the computer input device, showing a generalization of meaning. This pattern matches the described change. The other terms describe different processes: narrowing makes a word more specific in meaning, semantic bleaching involves loss of semantic content, and borrowing is taking a word from another language.

Broadening is when a word’s meaning expands to cover a wider range of referents over time. Language users gradually apply the word to more things, not just its original scope. For example, mouse originally meant only the small rodent and now also refers to the computer input device, showing a generalization of meaning. This pattern matches the described change. The other terms describe different processes: narrowing makes a word more specific in meaning, semantic bleaching involves loss of semantic content, and borrowing is taking a word from another language.

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