Synonymity and Semantic Variability in Medieval French and Middle English

Rothwell, W., 'Synonymity and Semantic Variability in Medieval French and Middle English', Modern Language Review (2007) 102(2) pp.363-380 RAE2008

Texts in medieval French and English often string together two or even three (quasi-)synonyms carrying a wide range of senses, a feature commonly regarded by modern scholars as stylistic rather than semantic. However, while for the modern reader the dictionary has become the accepted arbiter of form and meaning, the printing-press which made possible the dictionary came only in the late Middle Ages. In the absence of any such prescriptive authority, the synonyms in a medieval text often play a semantic role.

Peer reviewed