In this article I review the current usage of the term 'embodiment' in cognitive linguistics. I retrace the history of the embodiment hypothesis and show how its scope expanded to encompass topics as diverse as the grounding of meaning, the motivating factors of semantic change, experientialism, experimental cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. I close by offering a theoretic framework inspired by related work in the philosophy of cognitive science, and intended to serve as a useful organizational tool for situating and making connections between these research projects. (Tim Rohrer)