semantics
[si-man-tiks]
- Linguistics.
- the study of meaning.
- the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form.
- Also called significs. the branch of semiotics dealing with the relations between signs and what they denote.
- the meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, sentence, etc.: Let's not argue about semantics.
- general semantics.
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Origin of semantics
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for semantics
Contemporary Examples
Her disassociation with the feminist label and its negative connotations just boils down to semantics.
But the wiser voices in the movement know that, now, they face much graver problems than semantics.
Nathaniel Rich on why we should be worried—and how semantics have put us in danger.
In that sense, his defense may be correct but only as semantics.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour engaged in a battle of semantics with Candy Crowley on CNN's State of the Union.
Historical Examples
He could express it in the semantics of spiritism, or he could admit to witchcraft and sorcery.
Sense from Thought DivideMark Irvin Clifton
(e) Semantics, which teaches us the meanings of words and forms.
The Principles of Language-StudyHarold E. Palmer
Our teleprobes may leave something to be desired in the matter of semantics.
The Women-Stealers of ThrayxFox B. Holden
He'd had a course of semantics in college and could see no relationship.
The Sky Is FallingLester del Rey
Take your pick; those were the only two systems of semantics which had been built up through the ages.
Sense from Thought DivideMark Irvin Clifton
semantics
- the branch of linguistics that deals with the study of meaning, changes in meaning, and the principles that govern the relationship between sentences or words and their meanings
- the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent
- logic
- the study of interpretations of a formal theory
- the study of the relationship between the structure of a theory and its subject matter
- (of a formal theory) the principles that determine the truth or falsehood of sentences within the theory, and the references of its terms
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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 semantics
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
semantics
(sĭ-măn′tĭks)- The study or science of meaning in language forms.
- The study of the relationships between various signs and symbols and what they represent.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
semantics
The scientific or philosophical study of the relations of words and their meanings.
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Note
Semantics is commonly used to refer to a trivial point or distinction that revolves around mere words rather than significant issues: “To argue whether the medication killed the patient or contributed to her death is to argue over semantics.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.