Abstract
In this paper we shall discuss the semantics of the lexical items which have been
employed with reference to nakedness. The theoretical framework adopted in this
article is that of cognitive linguistics, whose emergence in the second half of the 20th
century gave a new impetus to semantic research. In particular, we shall discuss the
words which denoted nakedness in the past, but which fell into oblivion (e.g. unbehelod,
nscrȳdd), we shall also focus on the similes (e.g. as naked as a jaybird, naked
as a robin, naked as a worm, naked as a needle) as well as the phrases and idioms
(e.g. mother naked, belly naked, in the buff, in stag, in the altogether, in the nude, in
one’s birthday suit, in a state of nature, in the raw) which pertain to the conceptual
category NAKEDNESS. Furthermore, we attempt to answer the following research
questions: (1) What processes are the most productive in terms of creating new
synonyms of nakedness? (2) How many metaphorical schemas can be formulated
on the basis of the analysis? (3) How many and which conceptual domains play
a crucial role in the rise of the new lexical items whose senses are connected with
the conceptual category NAKEDNESS?
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