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2.2. Genus of the lexeme
Many verbs describe generic movement. Verb membership is then determined by the semantic parameter of medium or direction, or by the parameter specifying the nature of the subject/object.
The table below presents the verbs whose membership is influenced by the medium parameter.
| VERB | MEDIUM | DIMENSION | MEANING |
| dart | Air Land | To move through the air To move quickly using one’s feet | To fly suddenly and quickly (insects) To run suddenly |
| dive plunge | Air | To move down through air To move down through air To move downwards | To move down through air quickly and steeply To move down through air suddenly a long way To fall suddenly a long way from a high position |
| dive plunge | Water | To move in/down below the surface of a liquid To cause sb/sth to move in/down below the surface of a liquid | To move head-first down into water To cause sth to move down into water quickly and violently |
| sink | Air Water/ Liquid/ Substance | To move down through air To move in/down below the surface of a liquid | To move down through air To move down below the surface of a liquid/ soft substance |
| glide | Water Air Land | To move over liquid To move through the air To move smoothly | To move (boat) quietly and smoothly across water To fly quietly To move quietly and smoothly in an effortless way |
The verb dart describes sudden movement in air and on land:
(3) He darted across the room.
(4) Bees were darting from one flower to another.
The verbs dive, plunge and sink designate downward movement in air and water:
(5) She plunged into the swimming-pool.
(6) The falcon plunged towards its prey.
Sink, as the general term, denotes movement in a wider variety of contexts:
(7) Helen sank into water/mud/an armchair.
However, we postulate that the verbs dart, dive and sink prototypically describe movement in a given medium: dart is prototypically associated with air, and dive and sink with water. Our claim is supported by the fact that the medium parameter need not be syntactically present:
(8) She dived from the bridge and rescued the drowning child.
(9) The aircraft-carrier, hit by a torpedo, sank at once.
Further, as we will show below, sink has a metaphorical projection onto FEELING, which codifies the metaphor Emotion = Liquid (Goatly 1997):
(10) When he crashed, his heart sank at the thought that he might die.
Finally, glide refers to quiet/smooth movement in a wide range of contexts (water, air, land):
(11) The cruiser glided across the sea.
(12) An owl glided over the fields.
(13) The snake glided towards its prey.
As mentioned above, the domain of MOVEMENT is marked by the semantic parameter of direction, which can determine verb membership. The lexemes jump, vault, leap, hop and spring are subsumed under various subdomains depending on whether they denote forward or upward/downward movement over an obstacle:
| VERB | DIRECTION | DIMENSION | MEANING |
| Jump Vault Leap Hop Spring | Forwards | To move forwards quickly/suddenly | To move forwards quickly using your legs To jump onto sth with your hands on it To jump energetically a long distance To jump on one foot (sb)/with both feet (birds/small animals) To jump suddenly |
| Jump Vault Leap | Over sth | To move across/over/ through | To move over sth quickly using your legs To jump over sth with your hands on it To jump over sth energetically |
| Jump Spring Hop | Up/Down | To move up/down using one’s feet | To move up/down quickly using one’s feet To jump suddenly To jump on one leg |
(14) Robert jumped one metre/over the fence/out of the shadow.
(15) Carol sprang at him/to her feet.
Finally, as shown below, verb membership can also be determined by the parameter describing the nature of the subject or object.
| ARGUMENT | SEMANTIC SCOPE | VERB | DIMENSION | MEANING |
| Human/ Object | shake tremble quiver | To move from side to side/back and forth/up and down repeatedly | To move quickly from side to side/ up and down To shake un-controllably/ slightly To shake slightly | |
| Part of the body | shake tremble quiver | To move one’s body | To move one’s body quickly from side to side/up and down To shake un-controllably/slightly To shake slightly | |
| Subject | Human Boat | sail | To move towards a place To move over liquid | To travel to a place by ship To move (boat) over the sea |
| Object | rise fall | To move upwards To move downwards | To move upwards through air To move down from a high position/the sky/a tree | |
| Vehicle/ aircraft | plunge plummet | To move in/downwards below the surface of a liquid To move downwards through air | To move (vehicle) below the surface of water To move down through air very quickly | |
| Human | rise fall plunge plummet | To move one’s body by raising it To move to the ground | To stand up (fml) To move to the ground from force of weight / loss of balance To fall suddenly a long way from a high position To fall very quickly from a high position | |
| Object | Object | swing lift raise bend | To move from side to side/back and forth/up and down repeatedly To cause stb/sth to move up To move in a different direction | To move regularly from side to side/back and forth To cause sb/sth to move up To lift sth To turn in a curve/angle |
| Part of the body | swing lift raise bend | To move a part of one’s body | To move regularly from side to side/back and forth To move a part of one’s body upwards (esp. head/arm/leg/foot) To move a part of one’s body upwards To move a part of one’s body downwards |
The verbs shake, tremble and quiver may be found with a subject argument semantically characterized as human or as concrete. But they can also take an object denoting a part of the body via the metaphor Body part = Human (Goatly 1997):
(16) Mark was so nervous that his knees were shaking.
Sail typically occurs with a subject semantically characterized as boat. Its use with a human agent results from a metonymical process (content for receptacle):
(17) They sailed the Mediterranean.
Rise designates upward movement of both human and concrete entities, but the prototypical argument is human, as shown in the restricted use of rise with human subjects when it describes body movement:
(18) She rose to greet me.
Fall, plunge and plummet, which denote downward movement, may also occur with human and concrete entities:
(19) He fell off the horse.
(20) The vase fell from her hand.
Lastly, the verbs swing, lift, raise and bend take an object semantically marked as object or part of the body:
(21) She lifted her head when I came in.
(22) The suitcase is too heavy for him to lift.
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