ABSTRACT
The title ‘Metaphor and diachronic variation’ brings together a number of related linguistic issues. On the one hand, metaphor is a major mechanism of semantic change and there is a substantial literature tracing its contribution to language. On the other hand, the metaphorical expressions used to convey concepts within particular semantic domains themselves change over time, reflecting changes in society. So too do the conceptual metaphors which may underlie these metaphorical expressions (see Chapter 1). Taking these aspects together, a consideration of the diachronic dimension of metaphor in language offers a fuller understanding of the nature and importance of metaphor and of language itself.
