What's 'up?'

Take a look at the dictionary. "Up" has nearly 100 definitions. I'm sure for the most part, the usages you are referencing are correct at least as far as being in the dictionary counts. How many of them were added because of widespread usage is beyond me.

A heteronym is a word that has more than one meaning. That's all I can think of as far as a technical term for it.

StephanieFox said:

Yes, but with this unique word 'up' we have 'Clean it up' and we have 'Clean it.' They technically mean the same thing, but there is a difference evident to any reader or listener.

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Hm, I'm not sure "clean it" and "clean it up" mean technically the same thing.

1. You can "clean a table" and you can "clean up a table." Similarly, you can "clean a car", and you can "clean up a car". To me these suggest different activities. "Clean a table" would mean - to me - the removal of dirt. "Clean up the table" would mean - to me - the removal of dirty dishes. Similarly, to "clean a car" would be the equivalent of washing it (to me), while to "clean up a car" would mean to remove the garbage from the backseat, etc.

So basically to "clean X" would mean to remove dirt from X, while to "clean up X" would mean to put in an orderly condition. Which is why I'd argue that you can clean up your manuscript, but cleaning your manuscript would be somewhat harder.

2. You can "clean up a mess", but can you ever "clean a mess"? That is, I think, the object of "clean up" can be the thing you want to remove; the object of clean can't.

YES: You spilt mustard all over the table. Clean it up!
NO: You spilt mustard all over the table. Clean it! (Unless "it" means "table", of course)

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"up" often has a sense of "finalising" something; it often suggests a "goal". In the case of "clean" it's "orderliness".

"To dress" is neutral; "to dress up" implies an effect you meant to achive.

"To drink" is neutral; "to drink up" implies an empty glass at the end.

"To beat s-b"; "to beat up s-b".

etc.

Sometimes transitive verbs turn into intransitive verbs with the object of the transitive being the goal. These are more complicated, though, since usually a simple intransitive exists as well:

"to join s-th" vs. "to join up" vs. "to join".

Did he join the army?

Did he join?

Did he join up?

I have a hunch that the "up", by emphasising the goal, makes the action of joining more deliberate, but I'm not sure.

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Clearly, not all "ups" work like that. From your examples, "to stand up to someone" sounds like a straightforward spatial metaphor to me; a difference in size equalised by body posture or something like that. And so on.

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Prepositions can do interesting things to verbs; interesting to play with them a bit - to get a feel.

"Clean it" and "clean it up" do not mean the same thing, as similar as they sound. As Dawnstorm explained, there is a different between telling someone to clean something and telling them to clean it up. In the table example, people would most likely assume you mean cleaning the actual table with the former, straightening up what's on it with the latter.

I don't think there is a specific term for being able to say something similar with more than one phrase. My opinion is that as weird as it is to have a word with 100-some definitions, they are correct, and most languages have their equivalents. Most people who know me would call me a grammar nazi, and I certainly would not put a big read mark through the word 'up'. To me, the two phrases do not technically mean the same thing, and I can say this because they are not the same phrase. They are different phrases, and one would expect at least slightly different meanings. Many grammarians have written on ending a sentence with a preposition, and those who are sticklers for the "never end a sentence with one" rule are mistakenly applying a rule of Latin grammar to a completely different language from a completely different time.