Metaphorical trends in the Portuguese lexicon: what dictionaries do not say

Portuguese lexicography is traditionally based on previous works. As a result of this tradition, contemporary dictionaries do list a large number of possible meanings for each entry, but they fail to mention the frequency of use or the semantic changes that words may have suffered over time. This is the case for the Portuguese word esquisito, described in dictionaries as 'odd' and also as 'elegant'. This is also the case for bizarro (initially 'brave', nowadays 'odd). Both words have suffered a negative metaphorical twist of the original meaning. Conversely, words such as bestial and brutal (savage) gained a somehow unexpectable positive meaning (sensational). This paper aims to survey this kind of semantic changes in the Portuguese lexicon and to ascertain how dictionaries deal with those changes. The analysis will be mainly based on historical and contemporary lexicographical sources.