Originally Posted By: Hesperion
And when you mention 'semantic shift" or "semantic change" do you mean etymology or onomasiology, or just plain semantics, The Pook?

Just plain meaning, yes. In Semantic extension (which is a subset of Semantic Change/Shift) a word gets a slightly different referent to that which it began with. So for example the 'enter' button on computer keyboards is sometimes called the 'return' button. The word 'return' in this context is a vestigial reference to the 'carriage return' function of a typewriter. Hitting 'return' on a computer keyboard enters data or inserts a new paragraph marker, etc, it does not make the carriage on the printer return to the left, but we still say 'hit return.' Or think of the original example given in this thread - we talk about a 'ringing' phone. The word 'ringing' when talking about communication devices has been extended from its original meaning of the bell on someone's telephone ringing to mean that the telecommunication device is making any kind of sound to alert us to the presence of an incoming call. It might actually be quacking or croaking or playing Beethoven's fifth, but we still say "your phone's ringing."

That is an example of semantic extension. The term has been extended to new technology or a new situation.