DEFINITION OF SEMANTICS

Denotation

The core, central, dictionary meaning of a word — usually described through a set of semantic features that identify the basic concept associated with the word.

Connotation

The additional meaning a word carries beyond its denotation, reflecting people's emotions or attitudes toward what the word refers to; it varies according to culture, background, or social context.

One-way entailment

A relation in which sentence X entails sentence Y, but Y does not entail X.

"Max saw a bear" entails "Max saw an animal" — but "Max saw an animal" does not entail "Max saw a bear."

Two-way entailment

A relation in which sentence X entails sentence Y, and Y also entails X (the two sentences are logically equivalent).

"Paul borrowed a car from Sue" entails "Sue lent a car to Paul," and this also works in reverse.

Binary antonymy

A pair of antonyms that are mutually exclusive — there is no middle ground between them. They cannot be used in the comparative/superlative form and cannot be questioned with "how."

alive vs. dead (you cannot say "more dead," or ask "how dead?").

Gradable antonymy

A pair of antonyms that allow intermediate degrees of meaning. They can be used in the comparative/superlative form and can be questioned with "how."

Analyticity

A property of a sentence that is necessarily true as a result of the senses of the words in it.

"Bachelors are unmarried." — true simply because of the meaning of bachelor.

Syntheticity

A property of a sentence that is not analytic, but may be either true or false depending on the way the world actually is.

"Cats never live more than 20 years." — its truth depends on real-world facts, not on word meaning alone.

Predicate

A word/expression that identifies an element in the language system, independent of any particular sentence (like a dictionary entry); a predicate has only one sense.

In "The bald man laughed," the words BALD, MAN, and LAUGH are all predicates (units of the language system).

Predicator

The semantic role played by a particular word/group of words in a specific sentence. A simple sentence has only ONE predicator, even though it may contain more than one predicate.

In "The bald man laughed," the words BALD, MAN, and LAUGH are all predicates (units of the language system). However, only LAUGH functions as the predicator of this sentence — it is the one actually predicating something about the referring expression "the bald man."

Semantic Feature (Semantic Property)

The smallest, basic component of meaning that makes up a word's denotation, usually written as a binary (+/-) feature; words are defined by a combination of such features. Example: Child = [+human], [-mature], [+/-male].

Componential Analysis

A method of analyzing the meaning of a word by breaking it down into a combination of semantic features (properties). Example: Woman = [+human], [+mature], [+female].

Denotation

The core, central, dictionary meaning of a word, described through a set of semantic features identifying the basic concept associated with the word. Example: Denotation of "child" = [+human], [-mature].

Connotation

The additional meaning a word carries beyond its denotation, showing people's emotions or attitudes toward what the word refers to; depends on culture, background, social class, etc. Example: Connotation of "child" = innocent, affectionate, noisy.

Semantic Field (Lexical Field)

A set of words grouped together because they relate to the same general area of meaning/topic, often formed through hyponymy. Example: Red, blue, green, yellow form the colour field (all hyponyms of "colour").

Hyponymy

A relation in which the referent of one word is totally included in the referent of another word (the hyponym-superordinate relationship). Example: "Tulip" is a hyponym of "flower".

Hyponym

The "lower," more specific word in a hyponymy relation, whose referent is included in that of the superordinate. Example: "Turquoise" is a hyponym of "blue".

Superordinate

The "higher," more general word in a hyponymy relation, whose referent includes that of its hyponyms. Example: "Colour" is the superordinate of "blue", "red", "green".

Synonymy

A relation in which different words have different forms but the same or nearly the same meaning. Example: "Hide" and "conceal" are synonyms.

True Synonymy

A rare relation in which two words share both the same denotation and the same connotation. Example: There are very few true synonyms; even "movie/film/flick" differ in connotation (informal/formal, American/British).

Partial Synonymy

A relation in which a polysemous word shares only one of its meanings with another word, so the two are interchangeable in some contexts but not others. Example: "Deep" and "profound" work in "deep/profound knowledge" but not in "deep water".

Dominant Synonym

The "central" word in a group of synonyms, whose meaning equals the denotation common to the whole group. Example: In the group "surprise-astonish-amaze-astound," "surprise" is the dominant synonym.

Antonymy

A relation in which two words have different forms and opposite meanings. Example: "Hot" and "cold" are antonyms.

Binary (Complementary) Antonym

A pair of antonyms that are mutually exclusive, with no middle ground; cannot be used in the comparative/superlative form or questioned with "how". Example: "Alive" and "dead" (you cannot say "more dead").

Gradable Antonym

A pair of antonyms that allow intermediate degrees of meaning; can be used in the comparative/superlative form and questioned with "how". Example: "Hot" and "cold" (there is "warm", "cool" in between).

Relational Antonym (Converse)

A pair of antonyms that show symmetry in meaning, tested with the formula "if..., then...". Example: "Buy" and "sell" (if A buys from B, then B sells to A).

Markedness

In a gradable antonym pair, one word is "unmarked" (used neutrally to ask about degree), while the other is "marked". Example: "How tall is he?" uses the unmarked word "tall" even if the person is actually short.

Homonymy

A relation in which different words have the same form (sound and/or spelling) but unrelated meanings, usually from different origins. Example: "Bank" (financial institution) and "bank" (riverside) are homonyms.

Homophony

A type of homonymy in which words have the same sound but different spelling and unrelated meanings. Example: "Hour" and "our" are homophones.

Homography

A type of homonymy in which words have the same spelling but different sound and unrelated meanings. Example: "Lead" /led/ (metal) and "lead" /li:d/ (to guide) are homographs.

Polysemy

A relation in which a single word has two or more distinct but closely related meanings, usually from the same origin, with one dictionary entry. Example: "Chip" = a piece of wood/glass, a fried potato chip, a computer chip - all related by the idea of "a small piece".

Figure of Speech

A word or phrase that is used for special effect, and which does not have its usual or literal meaning. Example: calling someone "a snake" to mean they are sly and treacherous, not a literal snake.

Simile

The use of an explicit comparison between one thing and another, using a function word such as "like" or "as". Example: "As brave as a lion."

Metaphor

The use of a word or phrase to indicate something different from its literal meaning, based on an implicit comparison (no function word is used). Example: "She has a heart of stone."

Dead Metaphor

A metaphor used so often that it has lost its metaphoric characteristics, becoming a fossilized, unconscious expression that speakers no longer notice as figurative. Example: "The leg of the table."

Live Metaphor

An implied/indirect comparison used intentionally and creatively to make speech more vivid and figurative; it can suggest a variety of meanings depending on context. Example: "Tom is a pig" (could mean fat, lazy, greedy, etc.).

Personification

A special kind of metaphor in which a human characteristic is attributed to an inanimate object or an abstract notion. Example: "The thirsty ground."

Metonymy

The substitution of the name of one thing for that of another to which it is related or with which it is associated (based on association, not similarity). Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword" (pen = the writer, sword = the soldier).

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole, or the whole is used to represent a part. Example: "All hands on deck" (hands = sailors).

Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement used for emphasis, which is not meant to be taken literally. Example: "I've told you a million times."

Litotes

An understatement that uses negation to express a positive meaning indirectly. Example: "Not bad" (meaning "good").

Irony

The expression of one's meaning by saying the direct opposite of one's thoughts, used to be emphatic, amusing, or sarcastic. Example: Saying "What lovely weather!" during a heavy storm.

Euphemism

The use of a pleasant, mild, or indirect word/phrase in place of a more accurate but unpleasant or direct one. Example: "Pass away" instead of "die".

Onomatopoeia

The imitation of natural sounds by means of words. Example: "Bang," "buzz," "bark."

Oxymoron

Two words of opposing meaning that are combined grammatically. Example: "Open secret."

Metaphor vs. Metonymy

Metaphor is based on similarity (A is understood AS B); metonymy is based on association (A stands FOR B). Example: "Life is a journey" (metaphor) vs. "The White House spoke" (metonymy, White House = the government).