El léxico mitológico en la Edad Media y en el Renacimiento

Abstract

Many a word have their origin in classical myths. They can be found scattered throughout many semantic fields and registers: some in the common lexicon (grifo, sirena), others in a more cultivated or poetic one (elíseo, leteo), others finally in the scientific-technical lexicon (priapismo, vulcanología). Throughout the deonomastic process, some of the most remarkable features or one of the most singular experiences of the character may turn into the meaning of the new appellative (eco, narciso). But not only literature (until the 19th century) or science (since then) have resorted to mythology in order to re-enact old referents or to give a name to new ones: advertising has also profited from this particular field that provides those services or products with the possibility to be sold in a dignified way (Olimpus camera or Pegaso truck).