The word retains its old meaning but also takes on a new one as well.
Examples:
Dogge (dog) - used to be a specific breed, now encompasses all breeds.
Butcher - a slaughterer of goats, now a slaughterer of other meats as well
Holiday - 'holy day', now also a day when we don't have to work.
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Narrowing
The word becomes more specific in its meaning.
Examples:
Meat - originally meant all foodstuffs, now just means animal flesh
Deer - used to mean beast or animal, now it means Bambi
Girl - used to mean a young person of either sex, now refers to females exclusively.
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Amelioration
The word's menaing becomes more pleassant or positive.
Examples:
Pretty - once meant sly or cunning, now means beautiful or attractive.
Wicked - once meant evil now can also mean superb
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Pejoration
The word takes on a harsher or more negative meaning
Examples:
cowboy - Hollywood westerns, now means shoddy e.g. a cowyboy job
Gay - used to mean happy, but is now used in general to mean 'bad' e.g. that's so gay. (This also has homophobic connotations, and so there has been pejoration of the shifted meaning from 'happy' to 'homosexual' )
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Weakening
The word's meaning loses some of its original force or strength
Examples:
Soon - used to mean immediately, now it means in the near future
Legendary - used to be used about old epics, the stuff of legend etc, now is used quite frequently on How I Met Your Mother just to mean 'great'
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Euphemisms
A mild or inoffensive way of describing something unpleasant or distasteful
Examples:
Friendly fire - killing an allied soldier
Collateral damage - civilian casualties
Passed away - died
Can find lots of examples in medicine and military.
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Political Correctness
A drive to change or replace words which can be considered offensive or demeaning - this is a cause for semantic change
Examples:
Mixed race - instead of half-caste
Actor for both sexes instead of actor and actress.
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