Polysemy in specialized lexicon from Old English to Present-Day English

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to show the multiplicity of meanings given to the same word in specialized English lexicon from Old English to Present-Day English in order to provide the English language with linguistic economy and flexibility, thus increasing its vocabulary. The terms analysed are extracted from the OED, together with their date, author and work where they were first registered with the different meanings, and they mainly belong to Commerce, Law, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Technology and Computing.

Keywords

• polysemy
• specialized lexicon
• Old English
• Middle English
• Early Modern English
• Modern English