literally
→
figuratively
3 realizations
Related shifts
| ID | Meaning 1 | Direction | Meaning 2 |
-
Comment
| ACCEPTED Realization 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Polysemy | |
| Language | English | |
| Lexeme | literally | |
| Meaning 1 | in a literal way or sense | |
| Direction | → | |
| Meaning 2 | “used for emphasis rather than being actually true” | we were literally killing ourselves laughing |
| Reference | OED | |
| Comment | In OED second meaning from 2013. “And when the middle of the afternoon came, from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth.” (Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1876). “He is a fortunate man to be introduced to such a party of fine women at his arrival; it is literally to feed among the lilies.” (Frances Brooke, The History of Emily Montague, 1769) Hawkes 2013 | |
| ACCEPTED Realization 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Polysemy | |
| Language | Russian | |
| Lexeme | буквально | |
| Meaning 1 | literally | Пекин буквально означает "северная столица" Beijing literally means "northern capital" |
| Direction | → | |
| Meaning 2 | figuratively | Он буквально убил меня этим известием He literally killed me with this news. |
| Reference | MAS | |
| Comment | ||
| ACCEPTED Realization 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Polysemy | |
| Language | Spanish | |
| Lexeme | literalmente | |
| Meaning 1 | literally | Spiderman está que se sube por las paredes, literalmente. piderman is going up the walls, literally. |
| Direction | → | |
| Meaning 2 | figuratively | La gente se siente literalmente ordeñada en Madrid People feel literally milked in Madrid |
| Reference | Álvarez Mellado 2017 | |
| Comment | ||