Abstract
<jats:p>This entry presents an overview of the ways in which frequency acts as a cause of language change, influences ongoing language change, or actually shields against language change, and discusses some of the key studies that attest to its influence and seek to explain it. First, we zoom in on lexical frequency, discussing how highly frequent words behave differently from less frequent ones and how the effects of frequency can be found in both the form and meaning of words. Next, we turn to the frequency of morphological elements and how the frequency of affixes determines their distribution throughout grammar. We then turn to syntax and, more specifically, the role of associative frequency, whereby the regular co‐occurrence of lexical elements and syntactic constructions can cause them to coalesce and form new grammatical structures. Furthermore, some of the more subtle effects of frequency are presented. These include the influence of frequency of lexical items in another construction, the frequency of lexical items in another language variety, and the frequency of topics being discussed in a particular register. Throughout this entry, we demonstrate that understanding the role of frequency in language change is key to understanding language from a usage‐based point of view.</jats:p>