Linguistic Similarities?

[debka_notion]

In the course of looking for definitions of love for my latest website project (Sparked by something Efi wrote, go figure), I was just reading some random stuff online, which was talking about how one older Greek word for "to kiss" (I originally wrote "kissing", but then I'd have to match it with the same sort of verbal noun later on, and "impregnating" just sounds Odd.) fell out of use because it sounded too much like the verb "to impregnate". I seem to remember a similar issue in French. Oh you linguists out there- know you if this is a common problem? (Either having those words sound alike, or having the slang for one mean the other) Any ideas if this might have something to do with actual etymology, or just coincidence?

Comments

[coeus559.livejournal.com]

I remember some stuff from Historical Linguistics, but my book is not in my room right now - it's in the lab, because I brought all my books there at the end of the semester so I wouldn't have to move them. I'll get an answer to you tomorrow when I can get my book, but I do remember when we were talking about historical semantics changes and they did talk about something with words sounding like other words and then falling into disuse for that reason.

-Alex