ABSTRACT
The word ‘truth’ is polysemous in several languages and can range over distinct, almost opposite, meaning domains. It is related to beliefs, loyalty, and trust and is often associated with religious sentiments. But it is also tightly connected to epistemological and discourse procedures of ‘telling the truth’, verification, and proof. Previous chapters were based mainly on de Saussure’s idea of paradigmatic synchronic meaning relations. Here, the complementary Saussurean notion is brought to the fore: the diachronic aspect. The long history and the polysemous nature of ‘truth’ in Hebrew reveals how its meaning has evolved and sheds light on shifts in cultural foci. The chapter discusses the ways new meanings emerge from lifestyles, needs, and interests that lead to changes in the overall conceptual system. The Hebrew abstract concept of ‘truth’ evolved from actual experience in the real perceptual world to less accessible areas of emotions, belief, cognition, and discourse.
