Polysemy

POLY + SEMY= Many + Meaning

Definition of Polysemy

polysemy is a mixture of Latin and The word polysemy comes from the Greek words πολυ-, poly-, “many” and σήμα,sêma, “sign” and means literally ‘many meanings.’ Adjective: polysemous or polysemic.

A polysemy is a word or symbol that has more than one meaning. In order to be considered a polysemy, a word has to have separate meanings that can be different, but related to one another.

The term polysemy is used in linguistics as a means of categorizing and studying various aspects of languages. According to some estimates, more than 40% of English words have more than one meaning. The fact that so many words (or lexemes) are polysemous "shows that semantic changes often add meanings to the language without subtracting any" (M. Lynne Murphy, Lexical Meaning, 2010).

Two Approaches of Polysemy
The problem of interrelation of the various meanings of the same word can be dealt with from two different angles: diachronic approach and synchronic approach.

1.1  Diachronic approach. From the diachronic point of view, polysemy is assumed to be the result of growth and development of the semantic structure of one and same word. At the time when the word was created, This first meaning is the primary meaning. With the advance of time and the development of language, it took on more and more meanings. These later meanings are called derived meanings as they are all derived from the primary meaning. Take the word face for example
　　　　(1) the front of the head;
　　　　(2) the expression of the countenance;
　　　　(3) a surface of a thing;
　　　　(4) the side or surface that is marked , playing card, domino, etc
　　　　(5) the appearance; outward aspect;resemblance;                                                                   
Of the some meanings spelled out above, (1) is the primary meaning the basic meaning of the word face. There are also many instances in which the primary meaning gave birth to new meanings, and as a result the primary meaning became either obsolete or disappeared altogether.

1.2. Synchronic approach. Synchronically, polysemy is viewed as the coexistence of various meanings of the same word in a certain historical period of time, say, Modern English. There are cases where the central meaning has gradually diminished in currency with the changes that have taken place in culture and society, and one of the derived meanings has become dominant. This example by the word gay :
　　gay: (1) joyous and lively; merry; happy
　　　　(2) bright, brilliant
　　　　(3) given to social life and pleasure
　　　　(4) wanton; licentious
　　　　(5) homosexual
　　gay: (1) homosexual
　　　　(2) bright or attractive
　　　　(3) cheerful; happy; full of fun
　　gay: (1) homosexual
　　　　(2) lively and enjoyable (person)
　　　　(3) lively and interesting (place)
　　　　(4) bright and pretty (colour)
　　　　(5) lively and pleasant
The order of the senses indicates the development, the first meaning being the basic and primary and the last the latest. But in usage and currency. Sense (5) is arranged as No. 1 because it is rated as the most frequently used meaning.

word

meanings

·                           Man ·                                                 Book

i.                    humankind (both male and female, old and young) ii.                  specifically a male human being iii.                 even more specifically an adult male human being i.                    a bound collection of pages (could be a blank book) ii.                  a verb meaning to record or make an entry in a ledger (a book!) or today in a computer file. iii.                a reproduced and distributed text (not a blank book, and perhaps not even paper pages (a digital book, for example)

 there are other examples, such as:

word	meaning
crawl	crawl - to move slowly on hands and knees                                    crawl - to move slowly in traffic                                   crawl - to be covered with moving things                                   crawl - to swim the crawl

References:

http://walkinthewords.blogspot.co.id/2009/05/what-is-polysemy-and-how-does-it-differ.html?m

http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/polysemyterm.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-polysemy.htm
Polysemy Part 1 - YouTube.htm

http://www.hznu.cn/jpkc/yychx/uploadfiles/CAI/web/unit14.htm