semantic

semantic
\ \ [17] Sēma was the Greek word for ‘sign’. It has been widely pressed into service in the modern European languages for coining new terms, including semaphore [19] (a borrowing from French, which etymologically means ‘signal-carrier’), semasiology [19] (a German coinage), and semiology [17]. The adjective derived from sēma was semantikós which reached English via French sémantique. It was fleetingly adopted in the mid-17th century as a word for ‘interpreting the ‘signs’ of weather’, but it did not come into its own as a linguistic term until the end of the 19th century.
\ \ Cf.SEMAPHORE, SEMIOLOGY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • semantic — SEMÁNTIC, Ă, semantici, ce, s.f., adj. I. s.f. 1. Ramură a lingvisticii care se ocupă cu studierea sensurilor cuvintelor şi a evoluţiei acestor sensuri; semasiologie, semantism. 2. (log.) Teoria interpretării unui anumit sistem formalizat prin… …   Dicționar Român

  • Semantic — Sem*an tic, Semantical Sem*an tic*al, n. sing. or pl. [Gr. shmantikos having meaning, from sh^ma a sign.] 1. pertaining to the meanings of words. [PJC] 2. of or pertaining to semantics. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • semantic — 1894, from Fr. sémantique, applied by Michel Bréal (1883) to the psychology of language, from Gk. semantikos significant, from semainein to show, signify, indicate by a sign, from sema sign (Doric sama) …   Etymology dictionary

  • semantic — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ relating to meaning in language or logic. DERIVATIVES semantically adverb semanticity noun. ORIGIN Greek s mantikos significant …   English terms dictionary

  • semantic — [sə man′tik] adj. [Gr sēmantikos, significant < sēmainein, to show, explain by a sign < sēma, a sign, symbol < IE * dhyāmṇ (> Sans dhyāman, thought) < base * dhyā , to see, behold] 1. of or pertaining to meaning, esp. meaning in… …   English World dictionary

  • semantic — semantically, adv. /si man tik/, adj. 1. of, pertaining to, or arising from the different meanings of words or other symbols: semantic change; semantic confusion. 2. of or pertaining to semantics. Also, semantical. [1655 65; < Gk semantikós… …   Universalium

  • semantic — [[t]sɪmæ̱ntɪk[/t]] ADJ: usu ADJ n Semantic is used to describe things that deal with the meanings of words and sentences. He did not want to enter into a semantic debate …   English dictionary

  • semantic — se•man•tic [[t]sɪˈmæn tɪk[/t]] also se•man′ti•cal adj. 1) ling. of or pertaining to meaning or arising from the different meanings of words or other symbols: semantic change; semantic confusion[/ex] 2) ling. of or pertaining to semantics •… …   From formal English to slang

  • semantic — adj. Semantic is used with these nouns: ↑distinction …   Collocations dictionary

  • Semantic memory — refers to the memory of meanings, understandings, and other concept based knowledge unrelated to specific experiences. The conscious recollection of factual information and general knowledge about the world,cite web… …   Wikipedia

  • Semantic similarity — or semantic relatedness is a concept whereby a set of documents or terms within term lists are assigned a metric based on the likeness of their meaning / semantic content. Concretely, this can be achieved for instance by defining a topological… …   Wikipedia

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