semantogram

English

Etymology

From semanto- +‎ -gram, thus literally "meaning-drawing."

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɪˈmæntəɡɹæm/

Noun

semantogram (plural semantograms)

1. A symbol used solely for meaning, as when logographic Chinese symbols are used to represent the meaning of native Japanese words.
   • 1978, Herbert Franke and Dennis Twitchett, "Introduction", in The Cambridge History of China [1], →ISBN, page 32:

     "the majority of Jurchen signs, which included both semantograms and phonograms, were inventions."

Synonyms

• semantograph
• ideograph

Related terms

• logogram
• phonogram