Abstract
Based on the data of 11 languages belonging to three language groups (Hellenic, Germanic, and Romance) the article considers a range of semantic shifts forming a chain of meanings which, based on its outermost links, may be referred to as to take up → to abolish. The article analyzes the cognitive basis of the semantic development of verbs initially denoting the action to take up, a pattern assumed to be common for several languages and thus of particular significance for lexical and semantic typology. The structure of the chain reflects the idea of the distance between the relocated object and its original location gradually becoming greater, on the basis of which the meanings to take off and to take away are acquired. The final links of the chain (the meanings to destroy and to abolish) represent the ultimate realization of removal. The mechanism of meaning acquisition is assumed to differ between the shifts in the chain since three of the four derivative meanings are metonymical, while the meaning to abolish is of metaphorical nature.
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