On the polysemy of help

The verb help is highly polysemous and some of its meanings even seem contradictory. In order to try and understand how this polysemy came into being, I propose a look back at examples from the early modern period onwards, so as to trace the link that unites each secondary meaning with the original...

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Main Author: Mathilde Pinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 2015-05-01
Series:Lexis: Journal in English Lexicology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/lexis/943
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author Mathilde Pinson
author_facet Mathilde Pinson
author_sort Mathilde Pinson
collection DOAJ
description The verb help is highly polysemous and some of its meanings even seem contradictory. In order to try and understand how this polysemy came into being, I propose a look back at examples from the early modern period onwards, so as to trace the link that unites each secondary meaning with the original meaning of help. These observations are compiled in a synthetical table and a graph, which show how a limited range of semantic features and syntactic structures interact to generate meaning.
format Article
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institution OA Journals
issn 1951-6215
language English
publishDate 2015-05-01
publisher Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3
record_format Article
series Lexis: Journal in English Lexicology
spelling doaj-art-06380e58d7cf4522b2f113945bf4de0f2025-08-20T02:32:41ZengUniversité Jean Moulin - Lyon 3Lexis: Journal in English Lexicology1951-62152015-05-01910.4000/lexis.943On the polysemy of helpMathilde PinsonThe verb help is highly polysemous and some of its meanings even seem contradictory. In order to try and understand how this polysemy came into being, I propose a look back at examples from the early modern period onwards, so as to trace the link that unites each secondary meaning with the original meaning of help. These observations are compiled in a synthetical table and a graph, which show how a limited range of semantic features and syntactic structures interact to generate meaning.https://journals.openedition.org/lexis/943lexicalisationpolysemysemantic shiftgrammaticalisation
spellingShingle Mathilde Pinson
On the polysemy of help
Lexis: Journal in English Lexicology
lexicalisation
polysemy
semantic shift
grammaticalisation
title On the polysemy of help
title_full On the polysemy of help
title_fullStr On the polysemy of help
title_full_unstemmed On the polysemy of help
title_short On the polysemy of help
title_sort on the polysemy of help
topic lexicalisation
polysemy
semantic shift
grammaticalisation
url https://journals.openedition.org/lexis/943
work_keys_str_mv AT mathildepinson onthepolysemyofhelp