semantics

[ si-man-tiks ]
/ sɪˈmæn tɪks /

noun (used with a singular verb)

Linguistics.
  1. the study of meaning.
  2. 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.

Origin of semantics

First recorded in 1895–1900; see origin at semantic, -ics

OTHER WORDS FROM semantics

se·man·ti·cist [si-man-tuh-sist] /sɪˈmæn tə sɪst/, se·man·ti·cian [see-man-tish-uh n] /ˌsi mænˈtɪʃ ən/, noun

Words nearby semantics

semantic differential, semantic field, semantic memory, semantic tableau, semantic web, semantics, semaphore, semarang, semasiology, sematic, sematology

Example sentences from the Web for semanticist

  • Captain, semanticist and anthropologist would make the First Contact.

    It's a Small Solar System |Allan Howard

  • It isn't the kind of a job a Literate semanticist would do, but it's all honest Illiterate thinking, in Illiterate language.

    Null-ABC |Henry Beam Piper and John Joseph McGuire

British Dictionary definitions for semanticist

semantics
/ (sɪˈmæntɪks) /

noun (functioning as singular)

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
  1. the study of interpretations of a formal theory
  2. the study of the relationship between the structure of a theory and its subject matter
  3. (of a formal theory) the principles that determine the truth or falsehood of sentences within the theory, and the references of its terms

Derived forms of semantics

semanticist, noun

Medical definitions for semanticist

semantics
[ sĭ-măn′tĭks ]

n.

The study or science of meaning in language forms.
The study of the relationships between various signs and symbols and what they represent.

Cultural definitions for semanticist

semantics

The scientific or philosophical study of the relations of words and their meanings.

notes for semantics

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.”