AbstractDiachronic studies have played an increasingly important role in recent Cognitive Linguistics. This introductory paper provides an overview of some major lines of research in this field, starting with the inherently panchronic approach that characterizes most flavors of usage-based theory from Cognitive Grammar to recent complex adaptive systems approaches. In particular, the “constructionist turn” and the “quantitative turn” in Diachronic Cognitive Linguistics are discussed in detail. Diachronic Cognitive Linguistics is introduced as a multi-faceted, dynamic framework that aims at providing a holistic and nuanced picture of the complex interplay between language, cognition, and cultural evolution. In addition, this paper introduces the contributions to the present volume in some detail and discusses their relation to current research trends and paradigms within the broader framework of Diachronic Cognitive Linguistics.