Related shifts
| ID | Meaning 1 | Direction | Meaning 2 |
| SUSPENDED Realization 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | Semantic evolution | |
| language | Russian | |
| lexeme | ostolbenet' | |
| meaning 1 | to freeze, to stop motion | Я остолбенѣл на том мѣстѣ, гдѣ стоял и не знал, что дѣлать I froze where I was standing and didn't know what to do |
| direction | → | |
| meaning 2 | to be surprised | Сидоров, не заподозрив худого, мгновенно развернул послание и остолбенел Sidorov did not suspect anything bad, unwrapped the message at once and was shocked |
| reference | SRJa XVIII | |
| comment | The lexeme ostolbenet' does not necessarily carry the meaning 'to be surprised', but can also mean 'be frightened' (the former being a more frequent meaning). It is common in Russian texts to specify the kind of emotion that caused the experiencer to become motionless (e. g. by adding ot udivlenija, lit. 'from surprise') |
|
| NEW Realization 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | Polysemy | |
| language | Russian | |
| lexeme | obomlet’ | |
| meaning 1 | to freeze, to become motionless | от страха обомлѣл, увидя волшебницу he froze from fear when he saw the sorceress |
| direction | — | |
| meaning 2 | to be surprised | Глебов обомлел. Он никак не ожидал такого вопроса Gleboff was astonished. He never expected such a question |
| reference | SRJa XVIII | |
| comment | The word "obomlet’" can be used to refer to fear as well as to surprise, and its more concrete meaning 'to become motionless' persists in the language, thus the semantic shift seems to be in progress rather than to have taken place decisively |
|
The explanation of this shift probably lies in human physiology. When a person is shocked (or simply scared, without being surprised), they experience stress and become motionless (unless they choose to escape or fight)