A trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity and impact by long overuse, e.g. ‘As strong as an ox’
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The avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against
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Refers to words losing over time some of their original force or strength, e.g. ‘soon’ now means in the near future but used to mean ‘immediately’
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common phrase that has a meaning not deducible from the individual words, e.g. ‘jump the gun’
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The meaning of the word narrows so that it includes fewer objects/ideas, e.g. ‘weed’ used to mean any plant.
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The meaning of the word broadens to include more objects/ideas, e.g. ‘butcher’ once meant slaughterer of goats
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The meaning of the word is more positive than the original, e.g. ‘pretty’ used to mean ‘cunning’ or ‘crafty’
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Shift of meaning or ‘functional shift’ in which the words change their ‘class’, e.g. ‘text’ (noun) and ‘to text’ (verb)
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Meaning becomes more negative, e.g. ‘wench’ used to mean ‘girl’
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Making all variations of language conform to the 'correct' usage language
