“In modern society, the meaning of words changes much more quickly than it did in antiquity or even in the recent past. This arises from the intermingling of social classes, the struggle of interests and opinions, the struggle of political parties and the variety of aspirations and tastes.”

Source: Essai de semantique, 1897, p. 104-5 ; as cited in: Schaff (1962:14).

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Michel Bréal 10
French philologist 1832–1915

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