semiotics

American  

[see-mee-ot-iks, sem-ee-, see-mahy-] / ˌsi miˈɒt ɪks, ˌsɛm i-, ˌsi maɪ- /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior; the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures, or clothing.

2. a general theory of signs and symbolism, usually divided into the branches of pragmatics, semantics, and syntactics.

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semiotics British  

/ ˌsiːmɪ-, ˌsɛmɪˈɒtɪks /

noun

1. the study of signs and symbols, esp the relations between written or spoken signs and their referents in the physical world or the world of ideas See also semantics syntactics pragmatics

2. the scientific study of the symptoms of disease; symptomatology

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Other Word Forms

• semiotician noun

Etymology

Origin of semiotics

First recorded in 1875–80; semiotic, -ics

Example Sentences

How we get to that point is complicated, both because the book is a murder mystery and because its author was one of the foremost thinkers in the field of semiotics.

From Salon

I always think about what the semiotics of a project are when I take it.

From Los Angeles Times

I’ve spent entire evenings Googling ranch dressing varietals, decoding the semiotics of suburban chain restaurant menus, pondering the subtle thrill of foods that jiggle.

From Salon

For his part, Ouatiki – an Algerian national who at the time was a PhD student in semiotics – said he suffered greatly from speculation in the media that he may have been in on the heist.

From BBC

Roland Barthes was a French literary critic who worked in semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, just as Jung did.

From Salon