knee
→
genitalia
4 realizations
Related shifts
| ID | Meaning 1 | Direction | Meaning 2 |
| ACCEPTED Realization 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Polysemy | |
| Language | Akkadian | |
| Lexeme | birku | |
| Meaning 1 | knee | našpak birki u aḫi mariṣ he suffers from limpness of knees and arms |
| Direction | → | |
| Meaning 2 | (an euphemism for male and female sexual parts) | eṭlu dunnamû ša lā išû birkī a man of low standing, who is impotent (lit. who has no knees) |
| Reference | CAD: b 255 | |
| Comment | ||
| ACCEPTED Realization 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Polysemy | |
| Language | English | |
| Lexeme | lap | |
| Meaning 1 | knees | |
| Direction | → | |
| Meaning 2 | loins; genitalia | |
| Reference | <personally collected data> | |
| Comment | Not exactly the same just as 'knee', but more 'loins'. Meanwhile, in the modern language the meaning of this word have much more sexual connotations. |
|
| ACCEPTED Realization 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Polysemy | |
| Language | German | |
| Lexeme | Schoß | |
| Meaning 1 | knees, loins | |
| Direction | → | |
| Meaning 2 | feminine genitalia | |
| Reference | <personally collected data> | |
| Comment | ||
| ACCEPTED Realization 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Semantic evolution | |
| Language | Polish | |
| Lexeme | łono | |
| Meaning 1 | lap, knees, breast | |
| Direction | ← | |
| Meaning 2 | genitalia (obs.) | |
| Reference | ||
| Comment | Фасмер 517. Нужно проверить польский, я не уверена, правильно ли поняла. МБ. | |
The shift is obviously through the intermediate meaning 'lap' and 'loins'. In particular, it is reflected in such languages as English and German in which the meaning 'knees/lap' transfers into the meaning 'loins' and wider.