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Semantic change (also semantic shift, semantic progression, semantic development, or semantic drift) is a form of language change regarding the evolution of word usage—usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage.
Also called functionalism. The Darwinian view that many or most physiological and behavioral traits of organisms are adaptations that have evolved for specific functions or for specific reasons (as opposed to being byproducts of the evolution of other traits, consequences of biological constraints, or the result of random variation). adaptive radiation The simultaneous or near-simultaneous ...
Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. [1] [2] It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more or less common within a population over successive generations. [3]
The example of king crabs (family Lithodidae) evolving from hermit crabs has been particularly well studied, and evidence in their biology supports this theory. For example, most hermit crabs are asymmetrical , and fit well into spiral snail shells ; the abdomens of king crabs, even though they do not use snail shells for shelter, are also ...
For some languages, like Sanskrit and Greek, the historical dictionary (in the sense of a word-list explaining the meanings of words that were obsolete at the time of their compilation) was the first form of dictionary developed; though not being scholarly historical dictionaries in the modern sense, they did give a sense of semantic change over time.
The most well-studied example is the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which independently evolved at the same positions regardless of the underlying sublineage. [270] The most ominent examples from the pre-Omicron era were E484K and N501Y, while in the Omicron era examples include R493Q, R346X, N444X, L452X, N460X, F486X, and F490X.
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This is a list of English words inherited and derived directly from the Old English stage of the language. This list also includes neologisms formed from Old English roots and/or particles in later forms of English, and words borrowed into other languages (e.g. French, Anglo-French, etc.) then borrowed back into English (e.g. bateau, chiffon, gourmet, nordic, etc.).