the connotation "low-born" or "scoundrel," and today only the negative use survives. Thus "villain" has undergone pejoration. Conversely, the word "wicked" is undergoing amelioration in colloquial contexts, shifting from its original sense of "evil," to the much more positive one of "brilliant."

Words' meanings may also change in terms of the breadth of their semantic domain. Narrowing a word limits its alternative meanings, whereas broadening associates new meanings with it. For example, "hound" (Old English