semantics

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English [edit]

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Wikipedia

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /sɪˈmæntɪks/

Noun [edit]

semantics (uncountable)

  1. (linguistics) A branch of linguistics studying the meaning of words.
    Semantics is a foundation of lexicography.
  2. The study of the relationship between words and their meanings.
    • 2006, Patrick Blackburn, Johan Bos, and Kristina Striegnitz, Learn Prolog Now!, section 8.1:
      In fact, nowadays a lot is known about the semantics of natural languages, and it is surprisingly easy to build semantic representations which partially capture the meaning of sentences or even entire discourses.
  3. The individual meanings of words, as opposed to the overall meaning of a passage.
    The semantics of the terms used are debatable.
    The semantics of a single preposition is a dissertation in itself.

Etymology [edit]

"science of meaning in language,"
1893, from Fr. sémantique (1883);
Replaced semasiology (1847), from Ger. Semasiologie (1829),
from Gk. semasia "signification, meaning."

Derived terms [edit]

Related terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

science of the meaning of words
study of the relationship between words and their meanings
individual meanings of words
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See also [edit]

External links [edit]

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