External Factors:
Cultural changes, technological innovation or social conventions can affect how a word is used.
E.g. Virus, Bug, Crash, Windows have all been
Changing social ideas also mean that a need for new terms arises.
E.g. LGBT = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender to replace words that are no longer acceptable.
Cultural changes can also result in broadening/ bleaching of words as the original usage loses its significance.
E.g. Guy
1. Guy Fawkes
2. Someone with a grotesque appearance
3. Gradually replaced fellow to refer to any man
Internal Factors:
Basic meanings of a word can be linked to some similarity, either a specific attribute or an abstract concept. E.g. an actual virus can be likened to a computer virus.
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