HOW WORDS MOVE.
HOW MEANINGS MUTATE.

Middle High German liep continues into modern German lieb through regular final devoicing in pronunciation and later spelling standardization.

The inherited field of dear, beloved, pleasing, and welcome remains productive, with later kind or well-behaved uses in particular contexts.

Old High German liob develops into Middle High German liep with the inherited diphthong and High German obstruent pattern reflected in the historical spellings.

The adjective remains centered on what is dear, beloved, or pleasing.

Japanese emoji was romanized and adapted to English phonology without treating its spelling as an English compound.

Japanese “picture character” entered English as the name for the digital symbols.

Finnish sauna entered English with only modest adaptation to English pronunciation.

The Finnish bath and bathhouse word retained its central referent in English.

Synchronic Japanese compound analysis; no historical sound change is asserted between the whole and this component.

The picture component contributes the pictorial half of “picture character.”

Synchronic Japanese compound analysis; no historical sound change is asserted between the whole and this component.

The written-character component contributes the character or letter half of “picture character.”

Synchronic Nguni noun-class morphology; no sound change is asserted between the whole and the prefix.

The prefix forms an abstract noun rather than supplying an independent sentence meaning.

Synchronic Nguni morphology; no sound change is asserted between the whole and the human stem.

The -ntu stem contributes the human or person semantic core.

Tongan tabu was adapted to the English spelling taboo and English phonology.

A Polynesian field joining sacredness and prohibition became an English noun, adjective, and verb for prohibited things and acts.

Inuit qayaq was adapted to the English spelling kayak and English pronunciation.

The Indigenous Arctic watercraft name retained its central referent in English and later expanded to modern recreational craft.

Spanish hamaca was adapted to English hammock with final consonant and vowel changes reflected in English spelling and pronunciation.

The suspended sleeping net or bed retained its core function in English.

Spanish retained the Taíno form hamaca with little visible adaptation in the spelling reported by the RAE.

The Indigenous Caribbean suspended-bed referent continued in Spanish.

English avocado reshaped Spanish aguacate, changing both consonants and the ending in the adopted form.

The fruit and tree senses continued into English.

Spanish aguacate adapted Nahuatl āhuacatl to Spanish phonology and spelling.

The avocado sense was carried into Spanish, while the source word’s testicle sense did not become the ordinary Spanish fruit meaning.

Portuguese manga was adapted with the English ending and vowel represented by mango.

The fruit and tree referent remained central.

Portuguese jaguar entered English with pronunciation adapted to English patterns.

The large-cat referent continued into English.

Portuguese jaguar reflects Tupi jawára or jaguara with adaptation to Portuguese spelling.

A broader Tupi large-carnivore name became specialized as the jaguar species name in European languages.

Louisiana French bayouque was shortened and anglicized as bayou.

The watercourse sense continued and broadened in English.

Turkish yoğurt was adapted to English spelling and pronunciation as yogurt or yoghurt.

The fermented milk referent remained central.

English shaman is ultimately from Evenki šamān; Russian and German mediation are historically discussed, but one fully specified immediate chain is not forced into this edge.

A specific Siberian practitioner name was generalized in European scholarship across diverse traditions.

English kimchi adapts Korean 김치 through the established romanized spelling; kimchee is a secondary English variant.

The name of the fermented preparation travels with the food category.

English retains the Spanish spelling while adapting pronunciation.

The animal name remains stable through the borrowing.

Spanish adopted Quechua llama with little visible alteration.

The Quechua animal name remained the animal label.

English adopted Spanish alpaca with pronunciation adaptation.

Animal, fiber, and cloth senses expanded in English.