denotation

[dee-noh-tey-shuh n]

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noun

the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression, as distinguished from the ideas or meanings associated with it or suggested by it; the association or set of associations that a word usually elicits for most speakers of a language, as distinguished from those elicited for any individual speaker because of personal experience.

a word that names or signifies something specific: “Wind” is the denotation for air in natural motion. “Poodle” is the denotation for a certain breed of dog.

the act or fact of denoting; indication.

something that denotes; mark; symbol.

Logic.

the class of particulars to which a term is applicable.
that which is represented by a sign.

Compare connotation.

Origin of denotation

1525–35; < Latin dēnotātiōn- (stem of dēnotātiō) a marking out, equivalent to dēnotāt(us) (past participle of dēnotāre; see denote) + -iōn- -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for denotation

signification, definition, meaning, indication, implication

Examples from the Web for denotation

Historical Examples of denotation

The denotation of the tenses was effected by appropriate signs.
The Stranger in France
John Carr
How little is the difference in denotation, how great the difference in suggestion!
Materials and Methods of Fiction
Clayton Hamilton
We ought, if possible, to define in consonance with the denotation.
Analysis of Mr. Mill's System of Logic
William Stebbing
For the denotation may be increased in a sense without affecting the connotation.
Logic, Inductive and Deductive
William Minto
Connotation and Denotation are often said to vary inversely in quantity.
Logic, Inductive and Deductive
William Minto

British Dictionary definitions for denotation

denotation

noun

the act or process of denoting; indication

a particular meaning, esp one given explicitly rather than by suggestion

something designated or referred toCompare referent, connotation
another name for extension (def. 11)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for denotation

1530s, "indication," from Late Latin denotationem (nominative denotatio), noun of action from past participle stem of denotare (see denote). As a term in logic, from 1843 (contrasted with connotation).

denotation in Culture

denotation

[(dee-noh-tay-shuhn)]

The basic dictionary meaning of a word, without its connotations. For example, the denotation of the word modern is “belonging to recent times,” although the word may have different connotations.