How do words get their meanings? Why does the string of letters (and sounds) "d-o-g" mean "dog" and "c-a-t" mean "cat"? For the most part, meanings are conventions: A group of people (like speakers of ...

Meaning associations between words have always fascinated people. Aristotle was among the first to study the connection between metaphorical language and riddles, coining the term metaphor to refer to ...