The author argues that the study of semantic drift allows us to analyze the dynamics of the development of the words’ meanings and also to identify general trends in language development. The changes of cultural words’ semantic are of particular interest, they are linguistic means of representing the axiological view of the world. The concept of ‘galantereynost’’ (haberdashery), expressed by single-rooted lexemes, in the Russian language has not received a thorough lexicographical description, so it is diffi cult to understand the author’s intention in the texts of modern age.