ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF OLD ENGLISH ADJECTIVES DENOTING NEGATIVE APPRAISAL

Abstract

The study is dedicated to the etymological analysis of adjectives denoting negative appraisal in Old English (OE). The aim of the work is to model the etymological specificities of the concept BAD by identifying the primary sources from which negatively evaluative concepts arose, and tracing their evolution from specific meanings to abstract ethical judgments. Evaluation is an interlevel linguistic category expressing attitude toward reality. In contemporary axiological linguistics, negative appraisal demonstrates structural asymmetry and greater semantic stability compared to positive appraisal (the so-called polarity effect), which is related to communicative risks and the social weight of condemnation. Negatively evaluative vocabulary functions as a tool for social regulation and reflects the value orientations of the linguistic community. Historical reconstruction of axiological systems is necessary for understanding the transformations in notions of socially acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The methodology included component analysis of dictionary definitions, identification of the archiseme “negative evaluation”, and the use of an etymological dictionary to trace the transformation of initial meanings. A corpus of 48 Old English adjectives containing the sememes “bad”, “evil”, “wicked”, or “hateful” was compiled. The analysis revealed five primary etymological sources of negative evaluation: the domain of sensory experience, the domain of visibility, the domain of physical deviation, the domain of emotions and mental activities, and the domain of ritual and social failure. A key morphological strategy was also identified: the inversion of positive concepts (e.g., unweorþlic, gōdléas). This strategy demonstrates that “good” was the primary state of cognition, and “bad” was defined secondarily, as a deficiency or lack of good. The modeling of the etymology of the concept BAD proves that the Old English axiological category formed a binary system of value and anti-value that evolved from concrete, functional attributes to more abstract, ethical judgments. These results underscore the urgent need for further diachronic studies of negative appraisal for a complete understanding of the origins and evolution of modern English axiological systems.