18 Sam Creve, Mark Janse, Kristoffel Demoen Since the specific meaning activated by a word depends on the context in which it occurs, cognitive semantics does not accept the existence of a context-independent Grundbeteutung. And since polysemy develops out of the historical use of words, it is relevant that a lexical description of word meaning reconstruct its historical evolution. This is exactly the way in which the various meanings of the words πνεῦμα and σάρξ will be presented here9. The graphical representation is conceived as a radial network, starting from the historically oldest meaning and with younger meanings presented as derived through cognitive processes such as meta- phor, metonymy, generalization and specialization10. 1.1. πνεῦμα breath (1) metaphor inspiration (2) specialization Spirit, Divine inspiration (3) At the top of the diagram we find the meaning “breath” (1). This mean- ing shows the original semantic affinity with the verb πνέω “to blow11, to breathe”, which is the morphological base of the noun πνεῦμα12. This meaning is rare in Paul. It occurs only once, in a quotation from the Old Testament: D. Tuggy, Literal-Idiomatic, 250-251. 7 D. Tuggy, Literal-Idiomatic, 251-253. 8 Most of the meanings are found in the dictionaries and specialized encyclopedias we 9 have used as frame of reference during this investigation. On the basis of our own lecture of the Pauline corpus and our cognitive approach to semantics, we have restructured and renamed the meaning distinctions. Dirven – Verspoor, Cognitive Exploration, 33-35. 10 The use of πνεῦμα in the meaning of “wind”, which is metaphorically related to the 11 meaning “breath” is not found in Paul. An illustration of this meaning can be found in Heb 1,7. H.G. Liddell – R. Scott – H.S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford 1996) s.v. 12 πνεῦμα.