The goal of this book is to reflect on a long-overdue dialogue between academics of two apparently incompatible bases of research: the fields of cognitive linguistics and historical linguistics. The basis of the collected volume was that the predominantly practical-based area of historical linguistics will profit from theoretical input, just as cognitive linguistics reserach will be stimulated by the more practical perspective provided by historical linguistics. The result is this publication, the first of its kind to reflect such an overwhelming mutual feedback.