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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

se·man·tics

Audio Help [si-man-tiks] Pronunciation Key

–noun (used with a singular verb

)

Linguistics.

a.	the study of meaning.

b.	the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form.

2.	Also called significs. the branch of semiotics dealing with the relations between signs and what they denote.

3.	the meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, sentence, etc.: Let's not argue about semantics.

4.	general semantics.

[Origin: 1895–1900; see semantic, -ics

]

—Related forms

se·man·ti·cist

Audio Help [si-man-tuh-sist] Pronunciation Key, se·man·ti·cian

Audio Help [see-man-tish-uh

n] Pronunciation Key, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
semantics

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

se·man·tics Audio Help (sĭ-mān'tĭks) Pronunciation Key
n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

Linguistics The study or science of meaning in language.
Linguistics The study of relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent. Also called semasiology.
The meaning or the interpretation of a word, sentence, or other language form: We're basically agreed; let's not quibble over semantics.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

semantics
noun
1.	the study of language meaning
2.	the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text; "a petty argument about semantics"

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
semantics

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

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.”

[Chapter:] World Literature, Philosophy, and Religion

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

semantics theory
The meaning of a string in some language, as opposed to syntax which describes how symbols may be combined independent of their meaning.
The semantics of a programming language is a function from programs to answers. A program is a closed term and, in practical languages, an answer is a member of the syntactic category of values. The two main kinds are denotational semantics and operational semantics.
(1995-06-21)