Branches of linguistics. Synchronic vs diachronic approaches to the language study. Lexicology – ‘the science of the word’ Lexicon

Polysemy is typical of the English vocabulary due to:

-its monosyllabic character;

-the predominance of root words.

A monosemantic word is a word having only one meaning; these are mostly terms, e.g.: hydrogen, molecule.

A polysemantic word is a word having more than one meaning; highly polysemous words can include dozens of meanings, e.g. to go – appr. 40 meanings), to get, to put, to take – appr. 30 meanings).

A lexeme is the totality of all the forms and meanings of a word; a structural item of the vocabulary.

A lexico-semantic variant is one of the individual meanings of a polysemantic word.

The semantic structure of a word is an organised system comprising all meanings and shades of meanings that a particular sound complex can assume in different contexts together with emotional, stylistic and other connotations.

Polysemy in diachronic terms implies that a word may retain its previous meaning and at the same time acquire one or several new ones. The main question of diachronic approach is which meaning came first, e.g.

table, n. ‘a flat slab of stone or wood’ (primary meaning); ‘a piece of furniture’, ‘the food put on the table’, ‘people seated at a table’ (secondary meanings).