175

Task 1
Judging only by the names of the dictionaries elicit as much information about
them as possible and define their types.

Example:
Kunin A.V. English-Russian Phraseological Dictionary is linguistic, special - of
phraseological units, bilingual.

1.Ayto J. The Longman Register of New Words

2.Taube A.M., Daglish R.C. Contemporary Russian-English Dictionary
3.The Penguin Dictionary of English Synonyms and Antonyms
4.Collins COBUILD Essential English Dictionary 5.Zhdanova I.F. Short
Russian-English Business Dictionary
6.Crystal D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
7.A Deskbook of Most Frequent English Colloca-tions: The Teacher's Word-
Book
8.The Oxford-Duden Pictorial English Dictionary
9.Тихомирова Е.Е. Русско-английский разговор-ник-путеводитель:
Великобритания. США
10.Walker's Rhyming Dictionary of the English Language
11.The New Webster's Grammar Guide: A Complete Guide to English
Grammar, Correct Usage, and Punctuation - Designed for Quick and Easy
Reference

Task 2
This task is devoted to the historical development of British and American
lexicography. Circle the right answer.

176
1. The father of British lexicographywas:
a) Samuel Johnson
b) Charles Dickens
c) Nathaniel Bailey
2.The father of American lexicography was:
a) Samuel Johnson
b) Noah Webster
c)Ernest Hemingway
3.Regular bilingual (e.g. English-Latin) dictionaries began to appear in:
a) 15th century
b) the 16th century
c) 17th century
4.The first monolingual English dictionary explaining difficult words was
compiled for schoolchildren:
a) Robert Cowdrey
b) George Canon
c) John Walker
5.The author of the first dictionary of the English language, which included
pronunciation and etymology was:
a) Benjamin Franklin
b) Nathaniel Bailey
c)John Bullocar
6.The famous explanatory dictionary of the English language, compiled by
Samuel Johnson was published in:
a) the 16th century
b) 17th century
c) 18th century
7.Noah Webster's famous Dictionary of American English was published in:
a) 1808
b)1818
c)1828

Task 3
Compare the dictionaries of the series bearing the names of a) N. Webster
and b) A.S. Hornby.

177
1.These dictionaries are of American English.
2.They are specially compiled for foreign language learners at different
stages of advancement.
3.In these dictionaries pronunciation is shown by means of the International
Phonetic Alphabet.
4.In these dictionaries pronunciation is shown in specific phonetic notation.
5.The criterion of frequency is of paramount importance in the selection of
headwords and their meanings for these dictionaries.
6.They aim at giving as much useful encyclopedic information as possible.
7.They point out which nouns, and in which of their meanings, can be used
with the indefinite article and also indicate the patterns in which verbs can be
used.
8.The entries of these dictionaries contain etymology of words.
9.For Americans, the phrase Look it up in the dictionary is practically
synonymous to Look it up
in・・・・
Task 4
This task is dedicated to the fundamental dictionary of the English language
- "The Oxford English Diction-ary". Brush up your knowledge of it.

Set I
Which answer is correct?
The question of compiling this dictionary including all the words existing in
the English language was raised by one of the members of the English Phi-
lological Society:
a)Richard Trench
b) William Makepeace Thackeray

178
c)Edward Bulwer-Lytton
2.The issue of creating this dictionary was raised in:
a)in 1827
b) in 1857
c) in 1875
3.The first volume of the dictionary was published in:
a)1848
b)1868
c)1884
4.The last volume of the dictionary was published in:
a)in 1898
b)1928
c)1941
5.The OED includes:
a)about 150,000 records
b)about 250,000 records
c)about 450,000 records
6. The values in the OED records are ordered:
a)historically (in chronological order)
b)logically
c)depending on their frequency

Set II
Is it true or false?
1.Besides the official name - "Oxford English-Dictionary", it has other
names.
2.OED is a synchronous dictionary.
3.The purpose of the OED is to trace the development of English words from
their forms in the Old English language.
4. The entries of OED fix the date of the appearance of every word and even
meaning.
5.Verbal illustrations to the meanings of words are made up mostly by the
compilers of the dictionary.
6. OED is referred to the encyclopedia of the English language, because it
contains definitions of linguistic terms,some biographies (e.g J. Chaucer, W.
Shakespeare and others).

179
7.OED has a lot of encyclopedic supplements: tables of forms of irregular
verbs, lists of personal and geographical names, tables of measures.
8.OED is intended for linguists, scholars, people who are interested in the
history of the English lan-guage.

Task 5
Analyse the entries of the words discotheque and baton and determine the
types of the dictionaries they are borrowed from.
Set I
discothegue [diske(.)tek] n дискотека; ночной
клуб или дансинг с танцами под радиолу, магнитофон и т.п.
discootheque (dis' ko tek', dis'ka tek'), n. a night club for dancing to live or
recorded music and often featuring sophisticated sound systems, elaborate
lighting,and other effects.Also,dis'cothèque'. Also called disco. [1950-55;<
F discothèque. See DISC, -O-, THECA)
discotheque, -s diskoutek [-teik], -s (diskotek)
Discotheque
1 bar
2 barmaid
3 bar stool
4 shelf for bottles
5 shelf for glasses
6 beer glass
7 wine and liqueur glasses
8 beer tap (tap)
9 bar
10 refrigerator (fridge, Am. icebox)

180
11 bar lamps
12 indirect lighting
13 colour (Am. color) organ (clavilux)
14 dance floor lighting
15 speaker (loudspeaker)
16 dance floor
17,18 dancing couple (dancers)
19 record player
20 microphone
21 tape recorder
22,23 stereo system (stereo equipment)
22 tuner
23 amplifier
24 records (discs)
25 disc jockey
26 mixing console (mixing desk, mixer)
27 tambourine
28 mirrored wall
29 ceiling tiles
30 ventilators
31 toilets (lavatories, WC)
32 long drink
33 cocktail (Am. highball)

Set II
1.baton stick, wand, rod, staff, club, truncheon
2.baton n. 1. (in a relay race) to pass the, ~ 2. (of a drum major) to twirl a ~
3. (of an orchestra leader) to raise a ~
bat•on /'baton | | ba'tan, ba-/ n 1 a short thin stick used by a CONDUCTOR
(=the leader of a group of musicians) to show the beat of the music 2 a short
thick stick used as a weapon by a po-liceman; TRUNCHEON: riot police
with batons and tear gas | a baton charge 3 a short stick showing that the
person who carries it has some special office or rank: a General's baton 4 a
stick passed by

181
one member of a team of runners to the next runner
4.baton ['baton] п исч. 1 полицейская дубинка. Ро-
lice used their batons against demonstrators. По-
лиция применила против демонстрантов ду-бинки. 2 дирижерская
палочка; under the ~ of smb. под управлением кого-л. The conductor
raised the baton and the overture began. Дирижер
езмахнул палочкой, и зазвучала увертюра.
3 спорт. эстафетная палочка; to hand (pass] the ~ to smb. передавать
эстафетную палочку кому-л. 4 жезл; Field-Marshal's ~
фельдмаршальский жезл.
батон м. 1 белый хлеб продолговатой формы long loaf, French loaf. В
хлебном магазине она купила два батона хлеба. She bought two long
 loaves at the baker's. 2 кондитерское изделие в виде плоской палочки
bar; шоколадный ~ a stick
of chocolate.

Task 6
Find the description for each label:
1.apprec a) it shows that a word belongs to the local speech of a particular area
2.euph. b) it shows that a word is no longer common
3.derog. c)) it shows that the speaker dislikes or disapproves of something
4.pomp. d) it shows that it is a polite or indirect word for something
unpleasant or embarrassing
5.old-fash e) it shows a part of speech
6.CarE. f)it shows that a word is limited to one particular part of the world
7. dial
8.adv
9. myth

182
g)it shows that the speaker likes or approves of something
h)it shows the etymology of a word
I) it shows a foolishly self-important attitude

Task 7
Match the label and its type:
1.NZE. a)grammatical
2.Bibl. b)regional
3.sl. c)subject (terminological)
4.anat. d)stylistic
5.conj. e)attitudinal
6.iron. f)etymological
7.mus
8.adj phr
9.poet
10.med

Task 8
Find the translation error:
I marvel at the felicity of their style; but with all their copiousness (their vocabulary
suggests that they fingered Roget's Thesaurus in their cradles) they say nothing to me.
(Maugham W.S. The Moon and Six-pence. - M.: Progress, 1973. - P. 28)
Я дивлюсь совершенству их стиля; но все их словесные богатства (сразу видно,
что в детстве они заглядывали в "Сокровищницу" Роджета) ничего не говорят
мне. (Моэм С. Луна и грош. Рассказы / Пер.
Н. Ман. - Л.: Худож. лит., 1977. - С. 12)
206
Task 17
Which unit is the odd one out in each of the following sets?
Set I
1. noun-forming suffixes:
-or, -ive, -hood, -ism
2. adjective-forming sujrxes:
-able, -less, -ous, -ty
3. verb-forming suffixes:
-ize, -ify, -ful, -ise
Set II
1. 1.suffixes denoting the agent of an action
-er, -or, -ist, -ment
2.suffixes denoting nationality:
-tion, -ian, -ese, -ish
3. suffixes denoting diminutiveness:
-ie, -kin, -ock, -ster
4. suffixes denoting feminine gender:
-ess, -age, -ine, -ette
5. suffixes having derogatory meaning:
-ard, -ster, -ist,-ton

Set III
1. suffixes of native origin:
-ful, -less, -able, -dom, -ish, - ship
2. suffixes of Romanic origin:
-ment, -en, -eer, -age, -ance
3.suffixes of Greek origin:
-ist, -ism, -ite, -nik

Set IV
1.prefixes of negative meaning:

207
in-, non-, ien-, un-
2.prefixes denoting repetition or reversal action: re-, pre-, dis-, de-
3. prefixes denoting space: sub-, inter-, trans-, mis-
4. prefixes denoting time and order: im-, fore-, pre-, post-
Task 18
Insert an appropriate negative prefix: un, il, im, in-, ir-, ab-, dis, mis, non..
Set I
1. The food dished up for the prisoners was practically ...eatable (J.H. Chase).
2. •to get furious with those who ...agree with us
(T.J. Cooney).
3. Crime is personal. Evidence of crime is ...personal (E.S. Gardner).
4. Greta, stolid as ever, glanced at the farm with ...curious eyes (A. Seton).
5. I fancied our characters were not ...similar (Ph. Carr).
6. It could be a lie, an intentional untruth, a partial truth, or an opinion (T.J. Cooney).
7. They were drawn to each other by a magnet that was ...resistible (B. Cartland).
8. All while they were taking pictures they were yelling at us in the most ...respectful
way (J.M. Cain).
9. A ...obvious option might be to ask the pilot to circle around one more time (T.J.
Cooney).
10. Every time she came near me, she seemed to envelop me; she seemed deeper than
water, as ...escapable as air... (J. Baldwin).
11. Home had not changed, but she had -miserably…(A.Seton.)

208
12. For herself, she was ...different and intent as a wild animal, and as ...responsible
(D.H. Lawrence).
13. The farm hasn't managed that for us, of course, but it has done other things, ...
expected, ...logical
(N. Gordimer).
14. Did anything strike you about them - any ...normality, any ...sincerity? (A.
Christie).
Set II
1. a) A bit of teasing and ...comfort wouldn't do him
any harm (R. Dahl).
b)Travis looked slightly ...comfortable (L. Turner).
2. .a)It is most ...fortunate (Ph. Carr).
b)They had the ...fortune to be hit by a violent storm (Oxford Advanced Learner's
Encyclope-dic Dictionary).

3. a)He thought them ..

interesting and crude (A. Christie).
b) My advice is quite Interested (Oxford Ad-
vanced Learner's Encyclopedic Dictionary).
4. a) “A very... explicable business," Said Mr. Quin... (A. Christie).
b) An ...explainable aimlessness engulfs me
(W.P. Kinsella).
5. a) He has proved himself completely...trustworthy (Collins COBUILD Essential
English Dictionary).
b)The older I grow the more I ...trust the familiar doctrine that age brings
wisdom(H.L. Mencken).
6. a)They stared at it in a mixture of relief and ...belief (L. Fosburgh).
b)She's got an ...believable number of cats!(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English)

209
Task 19
Identify the meaning of the suffix ish in the underlined words. The meanings of
the suffix are:
a)"of, being, or pertaining to";
b) “after the manner of, having the characteristics of, like";
c)"addicted to, inclined or tending to";
d)"near, approximately";
e) “somewhat, rather".
1. He brushed away some beads of perspiration on his pinkish brow (P.
Highsmith).
2. Some women have told me I look boyish, which I don't take as a compliment
(I. Shaw).
3. She's Swedish (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English).
4. There was a longish pause (R. Dahl).
5. I can see you around eightish, Mike (Internet).
6. The woman's face was white and bloodless, and there was a slight bluish-grey
tinge around the nostrils and the mouth (R. Dahl).
7. I must not be foolish and fanciful (Ph. Carr).
8. She was always a bookish child (Oxford Advanced
Learner's Encyclopedic Dictionary).
9. He had got out of the car and walked to the nearest house, a smallish farm
building about fifty yards off the road... (R. Dahl).
10. Look at her - isn't it awfully good - just like a shrewish woman (D.H.
Lawrence).

213
© Task 20
In these jokes there are words formed by conver-sion. What are they?
1."Ma," said a little boy after coming home from a walk, "I've seen a man who
makes horses."
"Are you sure?" asked his mother.
"Yes," he replied. "He had a horse nearly finished when I saw him. He was just
nailing his feet."
2. Tom: "Don't be angry with me, Daddy. I'm very sorry that I've got a two in
arithmetic."
Father: "How could it happen? Did you understand the teacher's question?"
Tom: "Of course I did. It is he who didn't understand my answer."
3Dentist: “Have you ever seen any small boys ring my bell and run away?”
Policeman: "They weren't small boys - they were grown ups."
Task 21
Find the cases of conversion in the sentences:
1.He took the cup she offered him and sugared it(B. Neels).
2.It was impossible for them to calm her(S. Sheldon).
3.She might come and room with her (Th. Dreiser).
4.However everything in life has positive and negative consequences and it is
sometimes a mistake to only see the negative (Internet).
5.Truth will out (Proverb).Besides, liquor dulled the pain in his legs... (P.Jamie.)

214
7. Since I was the only child in their charge they mothered me (A. Marshall).
8.Seddons was wearing his hospital whites (A. Hailey).
9.His beard was caked with ice (L. Fosburgh).
10. ...it was merely a polite nothing (J.R.R. Tolkien).
11. Renie narrowed her brown eyes at her cousin(M. Daheim).
12. George's main purpose in shooting such a big beast had been to attract wild
lions to the kill(J. Adamson).
13. A city to Raggles was not merely a pile of bricks and mortar, peopled by a
certain number of in-habitants... (O. Henry).
14. "That's rather a tricky point," Landy said, wetting her lips (R. Dahl).
15. Penreddy's face clouded (M. Daheim).
16. Chew each bite carefully (Random House Webster's Unabridged
Dictionary).
17. Mr. Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale(E. Waugh).
18. Actually I've been toying with this idea(F.M. Stewart).
19. She finished before an hour was up, tidied her desk and put on her coat...
(B.Neels).
20. A woman that will be and stay by my side to go through the ups and downs
that this life throws at us (Internet).
21. ...I minored in history (J. Smith).
22. She wrinkled her forehead (N. Shute).
23. On March, 31 in 1889, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, opened to the
public (Bright Ideas Calendar).
24. Judith gave a single shake of her head (M. Daheim).
25. He himself bandaged the wound... (Ph. Carr).
26. ...Lerice even keeps an eye on their children, with all the competence of a
woman who has never had a child of her own, and she certainly doctors them all
- children and adults - like babies whenever they happen to be sick
(N.Gordimer).

215
Task 22
Identify the part of speech of the underlined words:
1. I have no say in the matter.
2.She is such a dear.
3.He liked to know the ins and outs.
4.)Soap does not lather in hard water.
5.I shan't go into the whys and wherefores.
6. She reads only glossies and comics.
7. I don't want to be a bad third.
8. He was familiar with ups and downs of life.

Task 23
Match the word with the conversion model after which it was formed.

1.oil,v. N→V
2.brown,v. V→N
3.natural, n. Adj → N
4.cut, n. Adj → V
5.ologies and isms, n. Affix → N
6. raven, adj N → Adj
7.e-mail, U
8. street, adj

Task 24
Classify the pairs into two groups: a) formed after the model N → V, b) formed
after the model V → N.
1. line - to line
2. bottle - to bottle
3. weep - to weep
4. catalogue - to catalogue
5. hoist - to hoist
6.colour-to colour
7. push - to push
8.preface - to preface
9. hit - to hit
10. gossip - to gossip

216
Task 25
In these proverbs and sayings there are the words derived by conversion. Figure
them out. Establish the model of conversion in each case.
1.Wolf never wars against wolf.
2.Extremes meet.
3.Pride goes before a fall.
4.Criminals often return to the scene of the crime.
5. Fine words butter no parsnips.
6.Let bygones be bygones.
7. Fortune favours the brave.
8. Two blacks do not make a white.
9. If ifs and ans were pots and pans.

Task 26
It is often difficult to say which of the two words within a conversion pair is the
derived member. One of the reliable criteria for determining the direction of
derivation is semantic-definitional. Study the definitions of the words forming
the following conversion pairs and identify the direction of derivation in them.

1.shade noun - light diminished in intensity as a result of the interception of the

rays; partial darkness
verb - to cause shade in or on, to represent degrees of shade or shadow in
2. freeze noun - the act of freezing, the state of being frozen verb - to pass from
the liquid to the solid state by loss of heat
3. blight noun - a disease of plants that results in the drying up and dying of the
diseased parts
217
verb - to infect or spoil with blight
4. bitter
noun - that which is bitter, bitterness
adjective - having a sharp taste like aspirin or unsweetened coffee, not sweet
5.harness noun - an apparatus for controlling a horse, for fastening a horse to a
cart, etc., consisting of leather bands held together by metal
verb- to put a harness on (especially on a horse)
6. blink noun - an act of blinking
verb - to shut and open (the eyes) quickly, once or several times
7.spam noun - a disruptive, especially commercial message posted on a
computer network or sent as e-mail
verb - to send spam.
8. assault noun - a violent attack, especially a sudden one verb - to make an
assault on, especially an inde-cent assault
9. slash noun - an act of slashing
verb - to make a cut or cut something with long sweeping violent strokes, using
a sword, knife, or sharp tool
10. hail noun - a frozen rain falling in a shower verb - to fall as hail in a shower

Task 27
One of the underlined words in the following examples was made from the
other by means of conversion.
Identify the direction of derivation.Use several dictionaries to check the results.

218
1. We must have breakfast together more often
(J. Smith). The Jacksons were breakfasting (P.G. Wodehouse).
2. She kissed Joe on the lips. He returned the kiss(M. Daheim).
3. It almost blinded me (M. Allingham). The room was fairly dark, but he is not
exactly blind and he was pink and apologetic when at last I got over, there to
admit him (M. Allingham).
4. We had a long wait for the bus (S. Redman). If we wait any longer, we may
miss the train(S. Redman).
5. It was a lengthy conversation and, judging by the frown on his face when he
had finished and she had gone back to her office, an unsatisfactory
one(B.Neels). I picked it up and frowned at it, while Brad came trotting after me
(J. Smith).
6. The driver braked hard as the child ran onto the road in front of him (Oxford
Advanced Learner's Encyclopedic Dictionary). She put on the brakes quickly
(S. Redman).
7. Judith sighed (M. Daheim). Tessa uttered a vexed sigh (M. Daheim).
8. ...he informed me, holding his glass to the candle
(J. Smith). At that point, a little impish fancy began to take a hold of me (R.
Dahl).
9.Freddy tried to gain control of his mount, but the terrified horse continued to
shy (M. Daheim). She discovered to her surprise that she didn't feel shy with
him (B. Neels).
10. Judith gave a shrug (M. Daheim). Gertrude shrug-ged, making her heavy
cardigan sweater bag even more than usual (M. Daheim).
11. A light glimmered at the end of the passage (Long-man Dictionary of
Contemporary English). Now there came a glimmer of a red light before them
(J. R.R. Tolkien).

219
12. It was a tease, sweetheart (J. Archer). She looked up and met his eyes, still
teasing her a little (N. Shute).
13. He set to work to grill the steaks while Jennifer laid out the rest of the meal
on a clean cloth upon the grass in the shade of a gum tree (N. Shute).
They cooked the steaks and ate them hot from the grill, sitting on the warm
grass in the shade of the trees, looking out over the blue, misty lines of hills
(N. Shute).
14. He took a folded paper from his breast pocket, and began to spread it out (N.
Shute). She remembered the garden, scented with escallonia, and the lane that
led up onto the moor, and the view from the top, the spread of the bay, the
brilliant blue of the sea (R. Pilcher).
15. Judith chuckled back; Renie sipped her rye(M. Daheim). Just as Judith was
about to ask the bartender if he had a phone book handy, he uttered another rich
chuckle (M. Daheim).

Task 28
What are the semantic relations within these conversion pairs?
Set I
Here the model is N → V. What does the converted verb denote?
1. skin, n → skin, u "to strip off the skin from"
2. screw, n → screw, u "to fasten with a screw"
3. coat, n → coat, u "to put a coat of paint on"
4. butcher, n → butcher, u

a) action characteristic of the object

b)instrumental use of the object
c)acquisition or addition of the object
d) deprivation of the object

220
"to kill animals for food"
5. whip, n → whip, u "to strike with a whip"
6. bone, n → bone, u "to take bones out of"

Set II
Here the model is V → N. What does the converted noun denote?
1. peel, v → peel, n "the outer skin of fruits or potatoes taken of”
potatoes taken off'
2. jump, v → jump, n "a sudden spring from the ground"
3.drive, u → drive, n "a path or road along which one drives"
4. step, v → step, n "an act of stepping once (in walking,running,dancing,
etc.)"
5.tramp, v → tramp, n "a person with no fixed home or occupation who
wanders from place to place"
6.find, v → find, n "some-thing found, especially something valuable
or pleasant

Task 29
It is not always easy to guess the meaning of the verb formed from the name
of an animal. "Switch on"

221
your linguistic intuition and match the words with their
definitions.
1. RAM, U LAMB, U
a) to give birth to lambs
b) to drive or force by heavy blows, to strike with great force
2. APE, U MONKEY, U
a) to imitate, to mimic
b) informal to play or trifle idly, to fool
3. PIG, U HOG, U
a) to appropriate selfishly, to take more than one's share of
b) informal to eat something quickly, to gulp
4.PARROT, U CROW, v
a) to repeat or imitate without thought or understanding
b) to gloat, boast, or exult
5. DOG, U HOUND, U BITCH, U
a) slang to make spiteful comments, to complain
b) to follow closely or track, especially with hostile intent
c) to pursue or harass without respite
6. MOUSE, U RAT, U
a) slang to desert one's party or associates, especially in a time of trouble
b) to prowl about, as if in search of something, to seek or search stealthily or
watchfully, as if for prey

Task 30
Determine in which sentences conversion is full (complete) and in which -
partial. Give all necessary ex-planations.
1. The matron believed in cheering the sick (A.Marshal.)

222
2. But once you see them as a whole, once your eyes leave the individual
and encompass the mass, a new quality comes into the picture (R.
Wright).
3. He didn't want concessions for some relative over here or any of that
rubbish (E. Anthony).
4. The impossible is never impossible! (A. Christie).
5. If they were having a boring conversation, he listened to the commercials
(F.P. Heide).
6. Many dead and many wounded and crippled had seen the terror and
serious nature of war (D. D'Amato).
7. Mr.Dalton feeling vaguely that a social wrong ex-isted, wanted to give
him a job so that his family could eat and his sister and brother could go
to school (R. Wright).
8. When there was a plague or an epidemic, it was the weak who were
wiped out and the strong survived (A. Hailey).
9. Thousands of years ago, the Chinese invented the abacus, a calculating
device consisting of a frame and columns of beads (Bright Ideas
Calendar).
10. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans created columns, vertical
structures that support a weight above (Bright Ideas Calendar).
11.Psychoanalysis is the one school that really deals with mental material,
and it sometimes gets re-sults, but it works only in the sphere of the
abnormal and the deranged... (B.L. Whort).

Task 31
Compare the phrases and say: a) in which of them a participle is used, b)
in which of them an adjectivized participle is used.
1. a standing rule (постоянно действующее правило) - 2) a standing man
(стоящий человек

223
1) a walking man (идущий человек) - 2) а walk-ing case (больной,
которому разрешено вставать с постели)
1) running water (водопровод, проточная вода)
- 2) running water (текущая вода)

Task 32
The high productivity of conversion finds its reflection in speech where
numerous occasional cases of conversion can be jound. They are not
registered by dictionaries and they appear on the spur of the moment,
through the immediate need of the situation. Say in which of the
following sentences there are the cases of occasional conversion.

1. Until the 1700s, most people speared their food with knives, picked it
up with spoons, or ate with their hands (Bright Ideas Calendar).
The books were well thumbed (J. Smith).
3. Terrific... a lovingly written work that brings home Cooney's thesis in
his typically thoughtful and amusing style. A must read for anyone who
cares about the major issues of our time. Simply delightful (P. Johnson).
Well, the hall is carpeted and there's a wall table and lights on the walls
(B. Neels).
5. To sum up Australian culture is a big ask (Austra-lia).
6. He waved to the man and, taking my hand, he walked with me to
where Peter Finlay was busily shepherding a group of boys into an
orderly line
(A. Marshall).
7. A week ago he had classified the old pathologist whatever his
achievements of the past - among the intellectual "have-nots" (A. Hailey).
8. Charity, sandwiched between two stout ladies with plastic Harrod's
shopping bags and important

224
 hats, listened to the conversation which they carried on across her (B. Neels).
9.It was in this shaded and raspberried lane that Walter had wooed and won
her (O. Henry).
10. The love was a given, something she read in her father's eyes... (T.
Herrington).
11. We must also husband our natural resources, i..., be thrifty with them,
making provisions for their replenishment, as the head of a family might
manage his estate so that his children and grandchildren may benefit from it
(Internet).
12. In the UK, it's illegal to sell ephedrine-based products that promise a
high (Cosmopolitan).

259
Task 48
Which of the following meanings unites the words:
a) lexical meaning;
b) grammatical meaning;
c) lexical meaning and grammatical meaning? deprived, arrived, decayed,
described fast, quick, rapid, swift
3. forget-me-nots, radii, Russians, oxen
4. to buy, to sell, price, money, expensive

Task 49
Carry out the componential analysis of these words by using an appropriate
combination of the semantic features

1. man. a)human
2. boy. b)animal
3. woman. c))male
4. girl. d)female
5. bull e))adult
6. cow f)non-adult
7. calf g)ovine
8. boar h)bovine
9. soW i)porcine
10. piglet
11. ram
12. ewe
13. lamb

Task 50
What are the meanings of the polysemantic words which are played upon in
these jokes?

260
1. Customer: "I would like a book, please."
Bookseller: "Something light?"
Customer: "That doesn't matter. I have my car with me."
2. The new house cleaner was full of her own impor-tance. She had worked on
the Continent and felt superior to the other servants.
experiences.
One day she was telling "below stairs" some of her
"How do the foreign dishes compare to English ones?" asked one of her
audience.
"Oh," replied the house cleaner, airily, "they break just the same."
The teacher was giving her class a test in natural history.
"Now, Tony," she said, "tell me where the elephant is found."
Tony thought a little and then answered: "The elephant is such a large animal
that it is hardly ever lost."
4. While waiting in line at the space flight station ticket window, a man asks for
a seat in a spaceship on the flight to the moon.
"Sorry, sir," the attendant says, "but all passenger flights have been cancelled for
the next few days."
"Oh," said the man. "How come?"
"Well, the moon is full right now."
5. Pam: "Hasn't Harvey ever married?"
Beryl: "No, and I don't think he intends to, because he's studying for a
bachelor's degree."
6. Caller: "I wonder if I can see your mother, little boy. Is she engaged?"
Willie: "Engaged! She's married."
7. Prof: "Nobody ever heard of a sentence without a predicate

261
Stud.: "I have, professor."
Prof: "What is it?"
Stud.: "Thirty days."
8."Very sorry, Mr. Brown, but the coffee is ex-hausted," the landlady
announcea.
"Not at all surprised," came back Mr. Brown. "I've seen it growing weaker and
weaker every morning."
9. "You're a pretty sharp boy, Tommy."
"Well, I ought to be. Pa takes me into his room and strops me three or four times
a week."
Task 51
Can you identify the meanings of the polysemantic words which are played
upon in these riddles and co-nundrums
Why are oysters lazy?
They are always found in bed.)
2. When does a chair dislike you?
(When it can't bear you.)
3. Why is a proud man like a music book?
(Because he is full of airs.)
4. Why is an English teacher like a judge?
5.(Both give people sentences.)
What bird can lift the most?
(A crane.)
6. What has a lot of keys but cannot open any doors?
(A piano)

Task 52
Establish the meanings of the underlined polysementaic adjectives realized in
these contexts
262
1. a) They brew their sour beer without the fear of b)
police raids (N. Gordimer)(English Guides: Metaphor).
b)McGinnis considered this, his expression sour
2.a)Most often we hear about great deeds of men who fear nothing; of giants
who turn the tide of battle by a single brave act (D. d'Amato).
b)There was a brave and conspicuous assemblage in the dining-saloon of a
noted hostelry where Fashion loves to display her charms(0. Henry).
3. a)She made him a bed in the small room (D.H. Lawrence).
b) I lived in the country when I was small (Oxford
c)Advanced Learner's Encyclopedic Dictionary).
She's a very small eater (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English).
4. a)To most police, the cold spell simply meant that the bad men wouldn't gee
around so much (J.J. Marric).
b)She had spread a cloth on the grass and father was kneeling beside it carving
slices of meat from a cold leg of lamb (A. Marshall).
c)The dogs lost the cold scent (Random House
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary).
5. a)An Irishman was asked if his horse was timid.
“Not at all," said he, "he frequently spends the night by himself in a dark
stable." (A. Joke).
b)The insistent, passionate, dark soul, the powerful unsatisfaction in him
seemed stilled and tamed, the lion lay down with the lamb in him (D.H.
Lawrence).
c)Your meaning is too dark for me (Oxford Advanced Learner's Encyclopedic
Dictionary).
6. a) It is difficult enough to fix a tent in dry weather..(J.K.Jerome)

263
b)Even when he might appear to be depressed, his dry sense of humour never
deserted him English Guides: Metaphor).
c)For the next four days he lived a simple and blameless life on thin Captain's
biscuits (I mean that the biscuits were thin, not the cap-tain) and soda-water;
but, towards Saturday, he got uppish, and went in for weak tea and dry toast,
and on Monday he was gorging himself on chicken broth (J.K. Jerome).
7. a)I had not seen a dead man since the war
(N. Gordimer).
b)The town is dead now the mine has closed (Oxford Advanced Learner's
Encyclopedic Dic-tionary).
c)I sat him at a table, where he dropped into a dead sleep (J. Reed).
8. a), b) Miss Hudson was within shouting distance of fifty, thin to the point of
boniness, with a sharp nose and a sharp tongue and a refined voice (B. Neels).
c)His long lean hands moved noiselessly, and only the sharp crunching rush of
the teeth of his reaping hook through the yellow stalks of the rye could be heard
(L. O'Flaherty).

Task 53
Read the passage and identify the meanings of the word nice in the contexts that
follow the text.
...more than half of all words adopted into English from Latin now have
meanings quite different from their original ones. A word that shows just how
wide-ranging these changes can be is nice, which is first recorded in 1290 with
the meaning of stupid and fool-ish. Seventy-five years later Chaucer was using
it to

264
mean lascivious and wanton. Then at various times over the next 400 years it
came to mean extravagant, elegant, strange, slothful, unmanly, luxurious,
modest, slight, precise, thin, shy, discriminating, dainty, and - by 1769 - pleasant
and agreeable. The meaning shifted so frequently and radically that it is now
often impossible to tell in what sense it was intended, as when Jane Austen
wrote to a friend, "You scold me so much in a nice long letter ... which I have
received from you."»
(61:72])
(from Bryson B. Mother Tongue. The English Language
1. We had a nice time at the beach.
2. Try to be nice to your uncle when he visits.
3.This is a nice mess you've got us into! nice shades of meaning
4.She's not too nice in her business methods.

Task 54
Analyse the contexts (semantic, grammatical, phrasal) in which the verb make
is used and identify the meanings of this word. Give all necessary explanations

1.The carpenters made a bed.

2. She made her bed before breakfast.
3. She has made several films.
4. He made a fortune on the stock market.
5. She made him cry.
6. She made him her assistant.
7. She made a good wife.
8. It's my first holiday for two years so I'm going to make the most of it.
9. I may be very stupid, but I can't make head or tail out of what you are saying

265
Task 55
Read the passage from N. Shute's "Requiem for a Wren" and give a correct
definition of the term seman-tics.
"Do you know what he teaches?"
Bill grinned. "Semantics," he said. "I learned that word."
"Christ. Do you know what it means?"
"Well, it's not Jews," said Bill. "Janet won't have that. It's words or something."
I nodded. I didn't think there was a chair of semantics in the university; it was
probably a research subject

269
Task 56
Find the synonymous terms in the list:
1. amelioration
2.differentiation of synonyms
3.degradation
4. extension
5. elevation
6. worsening
7. restriction
8. melioration
9. pejoration
10. generalization
11. discrimination of synonyms
12. broadening
13. deterioration
14. widening
15. specialization
16. degeneration
17. narrowing
18. bettering

Task 57
Determine the extralinguistic causes of semantic development of the words:
a) historical;
b)social;
c) psychological.

Primarily pen comes back to the Latin word penna ("a feather of a bird"). As
people wrote with goose pens, the name was transferred to steel pens, which
were later on used for writing. Still later any instrument for writing was called a
pen.

270
2. The word case along with its general meaning of
"circumstances in which a person or a thing is" possesses a number of special
meanings: in law ("2 question to be decided in a court of law'), in grammar
("changes in the form of a word showing its relationship with other words in a
sentence"), in medicine ("a person having medical treatment","an illness").
3. Engine was formerly used in the general meaning of "a mechanical
contrivance" (especially of war and torture), but since the Industrial Revolution
it has come to mean "a mechanical source of power"
4. Today the word client is viewed euphemistically as a person who is a subject
of regulation by a government agency or public authority".
5. The word supper was borrowed from French.
There is a supposition that supper comes from sup, which originates from an
Indo-European base relating to drinking. Supper is the name of a meal
taken at the end of the day. In old times when people had little heat in their
houses, they used to have a hot drink before going to bed. That was supper, so
first supper meant "drinking at bed-time", later it began to refer to the last meal
of the day.
6. In everyday communication, the noun noise means "sound, especially a
sound that is loud, unpleasant, unexpected, or undesired". It also has other, more
specialized meanings: for instance, in physics it means "a disturbance,
especially a random or persistent disturbance, that obscures or reduces the
clarity of a signal" in computer science - "irrelevant or meaningless data"
7.The noun don means "a (university) teacher, a leader, a master"
However, to divert people's attention from some negative phenomena, in the
criminal circles this word has come to be used in the meaning "the head of
Mafia family or other group involved in organised crime”.

271
8.The adjective plastic, meaning "capable of being moulded", arrived in English
in the early 1600s.
Now it is used to refer to synthetic materials.
9.Besides the meaning "a simple garment worn over the front part of one's
clothes to keep them clean while one is cooking, doing something dirty, etc.",
the word apron developed a number of technical senses. In the theatre, it refers
to the part of the stage that extends into the auditorium in front of the curtain,
whereas in an airport it would name the hard surface on which planes are turned
round, loaded, unloaded, etc. Alternatively, for ex-ample, in sport it denotes the
part of the floor of a boxing ring that extends outside the ropes. In geology
apron stands for a deposit of gravel and sand at the base of a mountain or
extending from the edges of a glacier.

Task 58
Establish the linguistic cause or causes of semantic development of the words:
a) ellipsis;
b) differentiation of synonyms;
c) fixed context;
a) linguist nat

1.The noun knave suffered a striking change of meaning as a result of collision

with its synonym boy. Now it has a pronounced negative evaluative connotation
and means "a swindler, scoundre!".
2.Minerals came to be used for mineral waters.
3. In early New English the verb overlook was em-. ployed in the meaning "to
look with an evil eye upon, to cast a spell over" from which there developed the
meaning "to deceive" first recorded in
1596. Exactly half a century later we find the verb

272.
oversee - a synonym of overlook - used in the
4.The verb propose came to be used for propose marriage.
5.An interesting case concerns autumn and har vest. Harvest is the native
Germanic word, cognate with the German Herbst "autumn". However, after the
Norman Conquest, the upper classes adopted a great many French words,
including au-tumn. This borrowing promoted a semantic shift: autumn became
the normal word for the season, while harvest was reserved for the agricultural
la-bour the peasantry performed at that time.

Snack came from the Middle Dutch snacken, which meant "to snap, to bite
(especially of a dog)" In Old English bite (OE bitan) meant "to use one's teeth
to cut a piece of something, to snap" Actually both words meant the same. Later
they developed the meaning "to bite something to eat" Nowadays the nouns
snack and bite mean "a light, quick meal".
7. The word beast was borrowed from French into Middle English. Before it
appeared, the general word for animal was deer, which after the word beast
was introduced, became narrowed to its present meaning "a hoofed animal of
which the males have antlers". Somewhat later, the Latin word animal was also
borrowed, then the word beast was restricted, and its meaning served to
separate the four-footed kind from all the other members of the animal
kingdom. Thus, beast displaced deer and was in its turn itself displaced by the
generic animal.
The word-group a train of carriages had the meaning of "a row of carriages",
later on of carriages was dropped and the noun train changed its meaning. It is
used now in the function and with the meaning of the whole world group.

273
9. The noun token originally had the broad meaning of "a sign". When brought
into competition with the loan word sign, it became restricted in use to a
number of set expressions as love token, token of respect and so became
specialized in meaning.
10. The verb starve in Old English had the meaning "to die" and was used in
combination with the word hunger (ME sterven of hunger). When the verb die
was borrowed from Scandinavian, these two words, which were very close in
their mean-ings, collided and as a result starve gradually changed into its
present meaning "to die (or suffer) from hunger".

Task 59
Study these schemes representing the results of semantic change and discuss
them with your teacher.

GENERALIZATION
woman
"a wife" > "a fully grown human female"
fellow
"a partner or shareholder of any kind" > "a man or boy"
bird
"a young bird (a chicken, eaglet, etc.), a nestling" >
"any bird"
holiday
"a holy day" > "any day of freedom from work (not only of religious occasions
such as Christmas and Easter)"
occasion
"an accident or a grave event" › "a time when something happens”.

274
Regret
"lament over the dead" > "a feeling of sorrow or unhap- piness, often mixed
with disappointment (at the loss of something, at a sad event, etc.)
" ready
"prepared for a ride”> "prepared for anything" >
rich
“Powerful”<wealthy"
arrive
“To come to shore, to land" > "to come"
tell
"to count" > "to make something known in words ;to express in words”

SPECIALIZATION
lord
"the master of the house, the head of the family" > "a man of noble rank"
queen
"a woman" > "the wife or widow of a king; a woman who is a monarch"
wife
"a woman" > "the woman to whom fowl a man is married"
fowl
"any bird" > "a domestic hen or cock"
room
"space" > "part of a building enclosed by walls and a floor and ceiling"
stool
"a chair" > "a chair without a back"
disease
"any inconvenience" > "an illness"

275
affection
"an emotion, a disposition or state of mind or body" >
"gentle lasting love, fondness"
sell
"to give" > "to deliver for money"

AMELIORATION
knight
"a boy, youth" > "a noble, courageous man"
Tory
"a brigand, highwayman" > "a member of the Tories"
fond
"foolish, silly" > "loving, affectionate"
pretty
"tricky, sly, wily" > "pleasing to look at, charming and attractive"

PETORATION

demon
"an angel" > "an evil spirit"
knave
"a boy, a male servant" > "a swindler, scoundrel, rogue, a tricky deceitful
person"
villain
"a farm servant" › "a scoundrel, a base, vile person"
churl
"a freeborn peasant, freeholder" > "a rude, boorish per-son"
notorious
"famous" > "famous for something bad"

276
Task 60
Read the words’ stories and identify the results of their semantic development.
The results are:
a)generalization;
b)specialization;
c)amelioration;
d) pejoration.

1.The noun picture used to refer only to a representation made with paint. Today
it can be a photograph or a representation made with charcoal, pencil or any
other means.
2.The adjective nice - from the Latin nescius for "ignorant" - at various times
before the current definition became established meant "foolish",then "foolishly
precise", then "pedantically pre-cise", then "precise in a good way" and then its
current definition.
3.Worm was a term for any crawling creature, including snakes.
4.From 1550 to 1675 silly was very extensively used in the sense "deserving
pity and compassion, help-less". It is a derivative of the Middle English seely,
from the German selig, meaning "happy, blissful, blessed, holy" as well as
"punctual, observant of season".
5.The earliest recorded meaning of the word pipe was "a musical wind
instrument". Nowadays it can denote any hollow oblong cylindrical body.
6..Radiator was used for anything that radiated heat or light before it was
applied specifically to steam heat or a vehicle and an aircraft.
7.Consider blackguard. In the lord's retinue of the Middle Ages served among
others the guard of iron pots and other kitchen utensils, black with soot.From
the immoral features attributed to these ser-

277
-vants by their masters comes the present scornful meaning of the word
blackguard - "a scoundrel".
8.Revolutionary, once associated in the capitalist mind with an undesirable
overthrowing of the status quo, is now widely used by advertisers as a signal of
desirable novelty.
9.The word saloon originally referred to any large hall in a public place. The
sense "a public bar" developed by 1841.
10. Lewd started out denoting those who were lay people as opposed to clergy.
Since the clergy were educated and the lay people, by and by, were not, it then
came to denote those who were ignorant, and from there - to obscene, clearly
with worse connotations.
11.The verb kidnap has come into wide use in the meaning "to take a child
away illegally and usually by force, in order to demand especially money for
their safe return". Now it implies any person, not only a child.
12. Crafty, now a disparaging term, originally was a word of praise.
13. Target originally meant "a small round shield" but now it means "anything
that is fired at" and figuratively "any result aimed at"
14. The word lean no longer brings to mind emaciation but athleticism and
good looks.
15. Voyage in earlier English meant "a journey", as does the French voyage, but
is now restricted mostly to journeys by sea.
16. The word hussy means today "an ill-behaved woman, a jade, a flirt". Yet in
Middle English, it denoted a perfectly reputable woman (a housewife).
17. Butcher dates from the 13th century as a term denoting the person who
prepared and cut up any kind of meat. Previously it referred to a specialist in
goat's meat, often salted because it was tough - this fact indicates how low the
consumption of beef had been in the Middle Ages.

278
18. The adjective shrewd formerly meant "malicious, wicked; cunning,
deceitful". Then it came to meant "sharp-witted; having practical common
sense"

Task 61
Read the longer and more detailed stories of the words' semantic development
and say to what main result it led in each case. The descriptions are based on the
data of the electronic dictionaries (see: Bibliogra-phy).

1. Centuries ago, King Edward I of England decreed that gold and silver
needed to be tested and approved by master craftsmen before it could be
sold.Artisans would send finished metal goods to Goldsmith's Hall in
London to be checked, and if those items met the quality standards of the
craft-masters there, they would be marked with a special seal of approval.
At first, people used hallmark to name that mark of excellence from
Goldsmith's Hall, but over the years the word has come to name any sign
of outstanding talent, creativity, or excellence.
2. In Old English, sibb occurs as a noun meaning"kinship" and as an
adjective meaning "related by blood or kinship". A modern descendant of
sibb is sibling "one of two or more persons who have the same parents".
By the 11th century, a compound had been formed from the noun sibb
prefixed by god, the ancestor of the Modern English god.A godsibb,
therefore, was a person spiritually related to another, specifically by being
a sponsor at bap-tism. Today we would call such a person godmother or
godfather, using god in the same way.By the 14th century, the d had
begun to disappear in both pronunciation and spelling, and godsibb
developed into gossib and then gossip, the form

279
which is used today. The meaning, too, had begun to change, and the
sense of gossip as "a close friend or comrade" developed alongside the
sense of "a godparent". From there it was only a short step to the gossip
of today, a person no longer necessarily friend, relative, or sponsor, but
someone filled with irresistible titbits of rumour.
In various Middle English texts, one finds a fish, an ant, or a fox called
der, the Middle English ancestor of the word deer. In its Old English form
deor, this word referred to any animal, including members of the deer
family, and continued to do so in Middle English, although it also
acquired the meaning "deer". By the end of the Middle English period,
around 1500, the first sense had all but disappeared. It is interesting to
note that when Shakespeare uses the expression mice and rats, and such
small deer for Edgar's diet in King Lear, probably written in 1605, one is
not sure whether deer has the first or the second meaning.
In 1923, a play called R.U.R. opened in London and New York. As well
as having a successful run, the play made a lasting contribution to
vocabulary by introducing the word robot into English. The author, Karel
Capek, coined robot from the Czech robota, meaning "forced labour". In
R.U.R. (which stands for Rossum's Universal Robots in the English
translation) mechanical men originally designed to perform manual
labour become so sophisticated that some advanced models develop the
capacity to feel and hate, and eventually they destroy mankind. Robot
caught on quickly on both sides of the Atlantic, and within a very few
years it was being used to denote not only "a complex machine that looks
somewhat human" but also "a person who has been dehumanized through
the necessity of performing mechanical, mindless tasks in a highly
industrialized society".
Today robot is also used widely in both scientific

280
and nonscientific circles as a term for "any automatic apparatus or device
that performs functions ordinarily ascribed to human beings or operates
with what appears to be almost human intelligence.
In earlier writings, one finds phrases such as a senile maturity of
judgment and green and vig. orous senility, demonstrating that senile and
senility have not always been burdened with their current connotations.
Even though senile (first recorded in 1661) and senility (first recorded in
1778) initially had neutral senses such as "per-taining to old age" (the
sense of their Latin source- the adjective senilis),it is possible that the
mental decline that sometimes accompanies old age eventually caused
negative senses to predominate.Although recent medical research has
demonstrated that the memory and cognitive disorders once designated
by senility are often caused by various diseases rather than the aging
process it-self, it seems unlikely that the word will regain its neutral
senses.

Task 62
Compare the original and the resultant meanings of these words and say
whether they can be considered as examples of amelioration or not.
earl
"a brave man, a warrior, a leader" > "a British nobleman of high rank"
lady
"the mistress of the house, a married woman" > "the wife or daughter of a
nobleman"
lord
"the master of the house, the head of the family" > "a man of noble rank”
281
marshal
"a manservant attending horses" > "the highest military

Task 63
The simplified descriptions of the words in the above tasks, whose aim is
to bring out the salient points in the words' development, may create a
false impression that the lines of semantic development are always
straight and clear. As often as not words undergo complicated semantic
changes, for example the word's meaning may come to generalization
through specialization or vice versa, or the processes in the connotative
component of the lexical meaning may be accompanied by the alterations
of the denotative component. Read the longer stories and identify the
changes in each case:
a)specialization; generalization;
b)generalization; specialization;
c)generalization + pejoration;
d) specialization + pejoration;
e) generalization + amelioration;
f) specialization + amelioration;
g)specialization+amelioration;generalization;
h)specialization; generalization + pejoration;
i)generalization + amelioration and generalization + pejoration.

These descriptions are based on the data of the electronic dictionaries

(see: Bibliography).

1. The word flunky has come into Standard English from Scots, in
which the word meant "a liveried manservant, a footman", coming at
least by the 19th century to be a term of contempt. The word is first
recorded and defined in a work about Scots published in 1782. The
definition states that flunky is "literally a sidesman or attendant at
your

282
flank", which gives support to the suggestion that flunky is a
derivative and alteration of flanker"one who stands at a person's
flank". The current meanings of flunky are labelled as derog ("a
person of slavish or unquestioning obedience", who does menial or
trivial work", "one in ceremonial dress").", "a male servant
2. In Old English the word lady (OF blafdige) denoted the mistress of
the house, i.e. any married woman. Later, a new meaning developed -
 "the wife or daughter of a baronet" (aristocratic title). In Modern
English the word lady can be applied to any woman.
3. First recorded in English in 1784 with the sense "a lover, an admirer"',
amateur is found in 1786 with a meaning more familiar to us - "a
person who engages in an art, for example, as a pastime rather than as
a profession" - a sense that had already developed in French. Given
the limitations of doing something as an amateur, it is not surprising
that the word is soon after recorded in the disparaging sense used to
refer to someone who lacks professional skill or ease in performance.
4.The word ketchup exemplifies the types of modifications that can
take place in borrowing - both ofplace in borrowing - both of both of
words and substances. The source of the word ketchup may be the
Malay word kēchap, possibly taken into Malay from the Cantonese
dialect of Chinese. Kēchap, like ketchup, was a sauce, but one
without tomatoes; rather, it contained fish brine, herbs, and spices.
Sailors seem to have brought the sauce to Europe, where it was made
with locally available ingredients such as the juice of mushrooms or
walnuts. At some unknown point, when the juice of tomatoes was first
used, ketchup as we know it was born. But it is important to realize
that in the 18th and 19th centuries ketchup was a generic term for
sauces whose only common ingredient was vinegar.

283
5. When, in the 7th century,Etheldreda, the queen of Northumbria,
decided to renounce her husband and her royal position for the veil of
a nun, she was almost straightway appointed abbess of a monastery in
the Isle of Ely. She was renowned for her saintliness and is
traditionally said to have died of a swelling in her throat, which she
took as a judgment upon her fondness for wearing necklaces in her
youth. Her shrine became one of the principal sites of pilgrimage in
England. An annual fair was held in her honour on 17 October, and her
name became simplified to St. Audrey. At these fairs various kinds of
cheap knickknacks, toys, and jewelry were sold along with a type of
necklace called St. Audrey's lace, which by the 17th cent had become
altered to tawdry lace. Eventually tawdry came to be applied to the
various other cheap articles sold at these fairs and so developed its
present sense of "cheap showy finery", as well as the adjectival use to
mean "cheap and gaudy in appearance and quality".
6. "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusi-asm," said Ralph
Waldo Emerson, who also said,"Everywhere the history of religion
betrays a tendency to enthusiasm." These two uses of the word
enthusiasm - one positive and one negative - both derive from its
source in Greek. Enthusiasm first appeared in English in 1603 with
the meaning"possession by a god". The source of the word is the
Greek enthousiasmos, which ultimately comes from the adjective
entheos "having the god within", formed from en "in, within" and
theos
"god". Over time the meaning of enthusiasm became expanded to
"rapturous inspiration like that caused by a god" to "an overly
confident or delusory belief that one is inspired by God", to "ill-
regulated religious fervour, religious extremism" and eventually to the
familiar sense "craze, ex-citement, strong liking for something". Now
one

284
can have an enthusiasm for almost anything, from water skiing to fast
food, without religion entering into it at all. The current negative
meaning of this word is "any of various forms of extreme religious
devotion, usually associated with intense emotionalism and a break
with orthodoxy".

Task 64
This task supposes a complex approach to semantic changes: to their
causes, nature and results.
Set I
1. Identify the linguistic causes) of semantic change:
a) ellipsis, b) differentiation of synonyms, c) fixed context, d)
linguistic analogy.
2. Determine the results of semantic change for the words place, stead:
e) generalization, f) specializa-tion, 9) amelioration, h) pejoration.

Place derives from the Latin platea "a broad street; but its meaning
grew beyond the street, to include "a particular city", "a business
office", "an area dedicated to a specific purpose" before expanding
even more to mean "an area". In the process, the word place displaced
the Old English word stow and became used instead of the Old
English word stede (which survives in farmstead, homestead,
steadfast, in his stead and- of course - instead of).

Set II
1. Establish the linguistic cause of semantic change:
a) ellipsis, b) differentiation of synonyms, c) fixed context, d)
linguistic analogy.

285
2.Determine the results of semantic change for the words cake, bread,
loaj: e) generalization, 1) spe-cialization, g) amelioration, h)
pejoration.

In Old English there was a different word with which the English
called bread, it was hläf. But then as a result of the Vikings invasion
and Scandinavian influence on the English language a new word of
the same meaning entered the English vocabulary from Scandinavian -
cake. Since the English had already their own word hlaf, they started
to use the word cake for a special type of bread. First it referred to a
small loaf of bread of flat and round shape. From the 15th century it
began to mean "sweet food", as it does now.
The Scandinavians, living in Britain, called their bread by the word
brauth. The English had a similar word - bread, meaning "a lump, a
piece of bread". Under the influence of the Scandinavian language the
word bread changed its meaning and began to mean bread in gen-eral,
while the word loaf (from the Old English hläf) developed its meaning
into a large lump of bread which we slice before eating.

Set III
1. Identify the extralinguistic cause(s) of semantic change: a)
historical, b) social, c) psychological.
2. Determine the nature of semantic change: d) meta-phor, e)
metonymy.

The original sense of the term cockpit was "a pit for fighting cocks".
This sense appeared around 1587.
In 1599 Shakespeare used the term in Henry V to refer to the theatre
and specifically the area around the stage. The theatrical reference was
his invention, obviously playing on the idea of a cockfight being a per-
formance. The nautical sense arose about 1700. It was not an open
area, but rather a compartment below decks. Normally, it would be the
sleeping quarters for

286
junior fiers unrated to the heatrea ente, th
may have been chosen because junior officers lorded over the sailors
like roosters or because of a physical resemblance to the space where
chickens were kept.
The nautical sense transferred to aeroplanes around 1914 and to cars
in the mid-1930s,

Task 65
Analyse the dictionary definitions of these polyse-mantic words from
the thematic group "Animals" and say in each case whether the
secondary meaning is
a) metaphorical or b) metonymical.
Set I
turkey (a large bird, rather like a large chicken, kept on farms for its
meat which is eaten, especially at Christmas and /in the US/ at
Thanksgiv-ing) - turkey (the flesh of this bird as food)
2. chicken (a common farmyard bird) - chicken (a person who lacks
courage, a coward)
3.ermine (a small animal of the weasel family whose fur is brown in
summer and white in winter) -
4. mouse a small rodent with a long thin tail) - mouse (a small hand-
held device that is moved across a desk-top, etc. to produce a
corresponding movement of the cursor, with a button for entering
commands)
5. butterfly (an insect with a long thin body and four /usually brightly
coloured/ wings) – butterfly(a way of swimming on one's front,
moving the arms together over one's head while kicking the feet up
and down together)

287
6.shark (any of various types of sea-fish with a triangular fin on its
back, some of which are large and dangerous to bathers) - shark (a
person who has unusual ability in a particular field)
7.horse (a large strong four-legged animal with hard feet, which
people ride on and use for pulling heavy things) - horse (soldiers
riding on horses, cavalry)

Set II
1. turkey (a large bird, rather like a large chicken, kept on farms for
its meat which is eaten, especially at Christmas and /in the US/ at
Thanksgiv-ing) - turkey (a useless and silly person)
2. chicken (a common farmyard bird) - chicken (the meat of this bird
eaten as food)
3. ermine (a small animal of the weasel family whose fur is brown in
summer and white in winter) - ermine (the rank, position, or status
of a king, peer, or judge, especially one in certain European coun
tries who wears, or formerly wore, a robe trimmed with ermine, as
on official or state occasions)
4. mouse (a small rodent with a long thin tail) - mouse (a shy, timid
person)
5. butterfly (an insect with a long thin body and four /usually
brightly coloured / wings) - butterfly (a person who never settles
down to one job or activity for long)
6. shark (any of various types of sea-fish with a triangular fin on its
back, some of which are large and dangerous to bathers) - shark (a
person who extorts money from others or lends money at very high
interest rates, a swindler)
7. horse (a large strong four-legged animal with hard feet, which
people ride on and use for pulling heavy things) - horse (an
exercise apparatus for jumping over)

288
Task 66
The same word can develop both metaphorical and metonymical
meanings. Analyse these phrases with the words from the thematic
group "Parts of the Body" and in each case determine the type of
meaning which the word realizes in the second phrase: a)
metaphorical,b) metonymical.

head
1.the head of a girl - the head of a cabbage
2.the head of a girl - to count heads
3.the head of a girl - the head of a household
eye
4.the eye of a man - the eye of a potato
5. the eye of a man - to have an eye for fashion
mouth
6.the mouth of a boy - the mouth of a cave
7. the mouth of a boy - another mouth to feed
tongue
8. the child's tongue - his native tongue (Spanish)
9. the child's tongue - the tongue of a bell
10. the child's tongue - No tongue must ever tell the secret
heart
11. the heart of a person - the heart of the matter
12. the heart of a person - brave hearts
hand
13. hands of a man - factory hands
14. the hand of a man - the hand of a clock
foot
15. the foot of a soldier - the foot of a mountain
16. the foot of a soldier - foot ("infantry")
289
Task 67
How are the underlined words used in these con-texts: a)
metaphorically or b) metonymically? Explain the reasons for your
decisions.

"Scruffy", "ornery", and "mean" were the adjectives that danced in

Judith's brain (M. Daheim).
2. At first the room was too loud for anyone to hear and pay
attention (C. McCullers).
3. He was snowed under by too many responsibilities
(Internet).
4. She was thrilled to work for the brilliant and handsome doctor
and to accompany him on a business trip to Norway (B. Neels).
5. The farm hands don't work on Saturday afternoon
anyway, so it was a good day for the funeral
6. She turned to her typewriter and her fingers began to fly (R.
Chandler).
7. Seoul, Tokyo and
Beijing all view the nuclear
standoff not as a crisis but rather as a negotiation (Newsweek).
8. When she snatched up the receiver and barked
"Yes, who is it?" the caller's response was to chuckle softly (L.
Turner).
9.I slowed down at every fork and crossroad and every house we
passed... (I. Shaw).
10. Even if the concept of separate but equal were considered
possible and everyone wanted it, the inevitable offsprings of white
Romeos and black Juliets (and vice versa) would lead to endless
and hopeless controversies and third, fourth, and fifth color
categories (T.J. Cooney).
11. "Oh, wait. Don't tell me. ...I hope the insurance company
doesn't think I'm going to give the money back" [she said]
(S.Grafton.)

290
12. The townspeople tried to flee from the rain of death
pouring down from the skies, but there was no es cape (S.Sheldon)
13.Extract as much information from as many sources as possible
(Notes on Attendance for Interview /leaflet/).
14. I wonder if you'd be kind enough to bring us three large
whiskies and keep repeating the order whenever you see our
glasses are empty (J. Herriot).
15. But he didn't push the idea... (Newsweek).
16. Fast boys in stripped-down Fords shot in and out of the traffic
streams, missing fenders by a sixteenth of an inch, but somehow
always missing them (R. Chandler).
17. She suspected he was swallowing his pride(L. Turner).
18. I don't work with a company; I work at a gulag where you lose
all your rights the moment you step through the door (Internet).
19. Most mornings he would have gone for a stroll round London's
Square Mile, his own particular beat - the one he'd walked for years
before being planted on the desk... (J.J. Marric).
20. Or maybe the wind didn't stop; it was just that all her senses
froze in that second. She couldn't see, hear or feel (P. Davis).
21. Because these values are in flux, schools seem uncertain of
what stand to take and the vacuum invites contradictory cries of
censorship from left, right, and middle (Parents)
22. [The telephone] becomes a lifeline. People with a stomach full
of sleeping pills and doubts tiptoeing in reach for it before they die
(P. Davis).
23. ..for now things are about to happen, and the great city will
close over them again as over a scrap of ticker tape floating down
from the den of a Broad Street bear (O. Henry).
24. ...and laugh deep fruity laughs... (J.R.R. Tolkien.

291
25. Sure enough, the gossip columnist's voice dropped once more
(M. Daheim).
26. ..Washington wants to retain the U.N. arms embargo
indefinitely (Newsweek).
27. Fuel up with a good breakfast (Internet).
28. Henri sensed that in this way his mentor was preparing him for
his debut in the student world(P. La Mure).
29. You see, I tracked down a couple of pictures but he didn't like
them. He said they weren't "pretty" enough. I remember one was a
gorgeous Van Gogh. But then I found this marvelous Monet, in
Venice, of all places, and he told me to send it to the Waldorf-
Astoria (L. Fosburgh).
30. Inspector Ghote interrupted him before his wrath fully
exploded (H.R.F. Keating).

Task 68
Metaphors are based upon various types of similar-ity. Identify the
feature or features of similarity in each case.
a)shape;
b) function;
c)age;
d) colour;
e)position.
I’m
1. the drop of milk - diamond drops
2. the heart of a man - the heart of a city
3. black shoes - black despair
4. the neck of a man - the neck of a bottle
5. green grass - a green man
6. the teeth of a boy - the teeth of a comb
7. the key to a door - the key to a mystery
8. the tail of an animal - the tail of a coat

292
Task 69
The metonymical change may be conditioned by various
connections, such as spatial, temporal, causal, symbolic,
instrumental, functional, etc. Establish the model of transfer in
each case:
a) material → article made from it;
b) part → whole;
c)instrument → product;
d)symbol → thing symbolized;
e)receptacle → content;
f)place → people occupying it.

1. an excellent horse - a detachment of horse

2.a new kettle - The kettle is boiling nickel (a metal) –
3.nickel (a coin)
4.a beautiful crown - She refused the crown
5. to lead him by the hand - He has a legible hand
6.a large industrial town - The whole town is furious about the
council's education policy

Task 70
Find the suitable description for each metaphor:
Set I
a) A PROBLEM IS A TARGET
b)A PROBLEM IS A BODY OF WATER
c)A PROBLEM IS A LOCKED CONTAINER FOR ITS
SOLUTION
 d) A PROBLEM IS A REGION IN A LANDSCAPE
1.He dived right into the problem.
2.He took aim at the problem.
3.Let's map out the problem before we do anything else

293
4. He finally found the key to the problem.
5. The mayor targeted the problem of homelessness.
Set II
a)BELIEFS ARE BEINGS WITH A LIFE CYCLE
b)BELIEFS ARE GUIDES
c)BELIEFS ARE LOVE OBJECTS BELIEFS ARE
POSSESSIONS
1. He is wedded to a belief in his own infallibility.
2. That belief died out years ago.
3. We share many beliefs.
4. You are governed by your beliefs.
5. He acquired most of his beliefs during childhood.
6. He embraced that belief wholeheartedly.
7. His belief was born of the early philosophers.
8. Beliefs dictate actions.

Task 71
metaphor or b) metonymy?
1.John Montagu,4th Earl of Sandwich(1718-1792), an inveterate gambler who
ate slices of cold meat between bread at the gaming table during
marathon(session)
Sandwich(two or more slices of bread with meat,cheese etc.between)
2.Don Juan (a legendary Spanish nobleman who had love affairs with many
women.
Don Juan(a man who has a great success with women)
3.Atlas(The Greek mythological Titan) who as a punishment for attempting to
overthrow Zeus was condemned to support the world on his shoulders. One of
the first atlases, produced by Mercator in the late 16th century, had a picture of
Atlas on its cover)
Atlas (a book of maps)
4.Cinderella a fairy tale character who is badly treated by her family but with
the help of her fairy godmother marries a prince)
Cinderella (a girl or woman whose beauty or abilities have not been
recognized, or who becomes rich and successful after a period of difficulty)
georgette (a thin silk dress-material)
5.Madame Georgette (a French dress-maker and a popular stylist in Paris)
georgette (a thin silk dress-material)
6.Rudolf Diesel (1858- 1913), a German mechanical engineer)
Diesel (a type of compression ignition engine)
7.Rockefeller (1839-1937), an American industrialist. He made a vast fortune
from his company "Stan-dard Oil")
Rockefeller(a very rich person)
8.Judas (one of Christ's - apostles, who betrayed Christ to the Jewish authorities
so that he was arrested and crucified)
Judas (a person who betrays a friend, a traitor)
9.James Thomas Brud- - nell, 7th Earl of Cardigan(1797-1868), a British
cavalryman of the Crimean War fame)
cardigan a knitted jacket fastened with buttons, first worn during the Crimean
War as protection against the cold win-ters)
10. Alessandro Volta –(1745-1827), an Italian physicist, the inventor of the
electric battery)
volt (the unit of electrical potential difference and electromotive force)
11.Job (/in the Old Tes- tament/ a virtuous man who kept his faith in God in
spite of many misfortunes)

Job (a sufferer who keeps his faith)

12.Falstaff (a hero of Shakespeare's plays)
Falstaff (a corpulent,jovial,irrepressibly,impudent person)
13.1st Duke of Wellington(1769-1852), a British soldier and to the top of the
nee statesman, known as in front but cut low in the Iron Duke. He de-
back)feated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, bringing the Napole-onic Wars
to an end)
14.Tom Thumb /in English folklore,tiny person, the hero of various stories)
Tom Thumb (any very small person
15. Adonis /in Greek methodology a handsome young man who was loved by
Aphro-dite)
Adonis (a very hand-some young man)
16. Lord Raglan (1788-1855), the
British field marshal,the commander in the Crimean War
Raglan an overcoat which has no shoulder seams, sleeves extending up to the
neck)
17. Jekyll and Hyde (the protagonist of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange
Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1886)
Jekyll and Hyde la person marked dual personality, one aspect of which is good
and the other is bad)
18. Jean Baptiste(a French linen weaver)
Batiste (a sheer cotton or silk material used for handker-chiefs, lingerie,
children's wear, ladies' summer dresses)
19. Cicero Marcus Tullius –(106-43 BC), a Roman statesperson, orator and
writer. His writings, which include many speeches, are considered a model of
classical Latin prose)
Cicero (a good orator)
20.André Marie Ampère(1775-1836), a great French mathematician and
physicist)
ampere (the unit of electrical current)
21. Methuselah (a Hebrew patriarch, the grandfather of Noah, described in the
Old Testament as living for 969 years)
Methuselah (an extremely old man)
22. Houdini(1874-1926), an American conjuror and esca-pologist. He achieved
Fame by staging escapep from apparently.
Houdini (any person or animal that makes amazing escapes)

297
impossible situations /e.g. locked into a box which was lowered under water/)
Task 72
Read the stories about the transition of proper names into common ones
accompanied by semantic changes. In each case identify the nature of semantic
change: a) metaphor, b) metonymy.
Friday → man Friday
1. The term man Friday comes from probably the most well-known
castaway story in literature - Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.
Robinson Crusoe tells the story of a man shipwrecked and living alone on
a desert island for 24 years. One day, he comes upon a human footprint. It
belongs to a young native man rescued from cannibals by Cru-soe, who
calls him Friday because they met on a Friday. The two become
companions, and eventually are able to leave the island for England. De-
foe's story was published in 1719, and by the early 1800s people were
using man Friday to mean "a right-hand man; an efficient and devoted aid
or employee"
Étienne de Silhouette → silhouette
2. Étienne de Silhouette was the French controller general of finances in the
mid-18th century. He was extremely close with the state's money as well as his
own, so close, in fact, that à la Silhouette came to mean "cheaply" for a time.
His niggardli-ness was greeted with ridicule. It was even suggested that one of
his economies was the decoration of his house with his outlines, which he made

298
Himself rather than with more expensive paintings.Outline drawings,as stingy
of details as Silhouette was of money were given his name
Louis Braille → Braille / braille
3.The system of reading and writing for the blind Braille was invented by Louis
Braille. In 1812 a little French boy, Louis Braille, was blinded. He learned his
alphabet at a school for the blind by feeling twigs that were fashioned in the
shape of the letters. The lad was hungry for knowledge and impatient with this
awkward technique. When he was older he heard of a French Army captain who
devised a system of raised dots and dashes by which his orders could be read by
the fingers in the dark. It occurred to Louis that the principle was good for the
blind. So Louis Braille developed a system of reading and writing for the blind
in which letters are printed as groups of raised dots that they can feel with their
fingers.
Samuel Pickwick → Pickwick
4.Samuel Pickwick was created by Charles Dickens.Mr. Pickwick debuted in a
series of Dickens' stories that were first published in 1836 and 1837.He was the
kind, but somewhat easily fooled, chairman of a club he started and named after
himself - the Pickwick Club. The stories tell about the adventures of Pickwick
and other club mem-bers. The tales made Charles Dickens a literary sensation,
and Mr. Pickwick became so popular that people began using his name as a
general term for someone who is pleasant but naive.
Charles McIntosh → mackintosh
5.The raincoat is called after the Scotsman who invented the waterproofing of
material.Charles.

299
McIntosh was the first to produce cloth that was really waterproof and practical
to manufacture. In his Glasgow laboratory Mcintosh developed a method of
cementing layers of cloth together with India rubber, patented it in 1823, and set
up a factory to make this waterproof material. First the cloth was called
mackintosh, then raincoats were made from it.
Joseph I. Guillotine → guillotine
6. Joseph I. Guillotine was a French doctor. He never invented that horrible
device used to execute peo-ple, especially in France in the past. The device
worked like this: a sharp blade was raised up on a frame and dropped onto the
person's neck. Neither is there any truth in the legend that he was one of the first
to die beneath its falling blade. But one cannot say he had nothing to do with it.
Dr. Guillotine supported capital punishment and suggested the use of the
machine instead of hanging.
He insisted that it was a more "humanitarian" way of putting criminals to death.
The machine was first used in Paris in 1792: a notorious highwayman was the
first sentenced to be guillotined. Dr.
Guillotine died quietly in his bed twenty-two years later. It is also interesting to
note that now the word guillotine is used to name a device used for cutting and
trimming papers.
John Duns Scotus → dunce
This word meaning "a stupid person" is an eponym for John Duns Scotus (1265-
1308), a leading scholar of philosophy and theology. Scotus was born in Duns,
Scotland, and his writings formed the philosophical core for a Scholastic sect
named after him, the Scotists. In the 16th century, humanists and reformers
began attacking the Sco-tists for splitting hairs and engaging in useless