Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
GENERALIZATION
is the process of semantic change that extends and widens the meaning of a word to apply to or include a greater range of ideas. For example, the word barn is today “a place where all sorts of grain, hay, animals, and machinery may be housed,” but the word originally meant “a place where barley is stored” (Old English bern comes from bere, “barley,” and aern, “house”). The meaning of barn has generalized. See also SPECIALIZATION.
