semantics
/sɪˈmæntɪks/ noun
Also a form of semantic
- noun (linguistics) A branch of linguistics studying the meaning of words. “lexical semantics”
- noun The study of the relationship between words and their meanings.
- noun The meaning or set of meanings of a linguistic element, such as a word, morpheme or utterance. “In very ancient or poorly documented languages, the precise semantics of words tend to be uncertain.”
- noun The meanings of individual words, as opposed to the overall meaning of a passage. “The semantics of the terms used are debatable.”
- noun (computer science) The meaning of computer language constructs, in contrast to their form or syntax. “file sharing and locking semantics”
- noun (loosely, colloquial, of a detail or distinction) Pettiness or triviality. “Who cares? This is all just semantics!”
Etymology
From French sémantique, displacing earlier semasiology. From Ancient Greek σημαντικός (sēmantikós). By surface analysis, semantic + -ics.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “semantics”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details