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that they are of different kinds. The foot of a bed is the place where
the feet rest when one lies in the bed, but the foot of a mountain
got its name by another association: the foot of a mountain is its
lowest part, so that the association here is founded on common
position. By the arms of an arm-chair we mean the place where
the arms lie when one is sitting in the chair, so that the type of
association here is the same as in the foot of a bed. Meanings
produced through transference based on contiguity sometimes
originate from geographical or proper names. China in the sense of
"dishes made of porcelain" originated from the name of the
country which was believed to be the birthplace of porcelain.
Tweed ("a coarse wool cloth") got its name from the river Tweed
The name of a painter is frequently transferred onto one of his
pictures: a Matisse = a painting by Matisse.
Broadening (or Generalization) of Meaning. Narrowing (or
Specialization) of Meaning
Sometimes, the process of transference may result in a
considerable change in range of meaning. For instance, the verb to
arrive (French borrowing) began its life in English in the narrow
meaning "to come to shore, to land". In Modern English it has
greatly widened its combinability and developed the general
meaning "to come" (e. g. to arrive in a village, town, city, country,
at a hotel, hostel, college, theatre, place, etc.). The meaning
developed through transference based on contiguity (the concept
of coming somewhere is the same for both meanings), but the
range of the second meaning is much broader.
Deer: | any beast | > | a certain kind of beast
The so-called "Degeneration" ("Degradation") and
"Elevation" of Meaning
Knave: boy > swindler
These examples show that the second meaning, in contrast
with the one from which it developed, denotes a person of bad
repute or character. Semantically speaking, the second meaning

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