semantics

Definition of Semantics

(noun) The study of the meaning of words.

Example of Semantics

• Studying the role of gender in words that have a negative connotation.
  

Semantics Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: se·man·tics

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /səˈmæn(t)ɪks/
• British English – /sᵻˈmantɪks/

Usage Notes

• Semantics is considered a subfield of linguistics by some and a separate field by others.
• Not to be confused with syntax, which relates to structure not meaning.
• A (noun) semanticist or (noun) semantician studies (adjective) semantic topics.

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Sociolinguistics Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “semantics” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Hughes, Geoffrey. 2010. Political Correctness: A History of Semantics and Culture. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Lyons, John. 1977. Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Macdonald, Graham, and Philip Pettit. 2012. Semantics and Social Science. London: Routledge.
• Saeed, John I. 2009. Semantics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Related Terms

• grammar
• language
• morpheme
• phoneme
• phonology
• sociolinguistics
• speech
• symbol

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Cite the Definition of Semantics

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “semantics.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 16, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/semantics/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

semantics. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/semantics/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “semantics.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/semantics/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“semantics.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/semantics/>.