What does "semantics" mean?

A branch of linguistics studying the meaning of words.

Semantics

Common synonyms include: bowwow theory, comparative linguistics, derivation, descriptive linguistics, dialectology, dingdong theory.

//sɪˈmæntɪks// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Common ·High school level

Noun

1
A branch of linguistics studying the meaning of words. countable, uncountable
"Holonym: linguistics"
2
the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text wordnet
3
The study of the relationship between words and their meanings. countable, uncountable
"In fact, nowadays a lot is known about the semantics of natural languages, and it is surprisingly easy to build semantic representations which partially capture the meaning of sentences or even entire discourses."
4
the study of language meaning wordnet
5
The meaning or set of meanings of a linguistic element, such as a word, morpheme or utterance. countable, uncountable
"In very ancient or poorly documented languages, the precise semantics of words tend to be uncertain."

Show 3 more definitions

6
The meaning or set of meanings of a linguistic element, such as a word, morpheme or utterance.; The meanings of individual words, as opposed to the overall meaning of a passage. countable, uncountable
"The semantics of the terms used are debatable."
7
The meaning of computer language constructs, in contrast to their form or syntax. countable, uncountable
"file sharing and locking semantics"
8
Pettiness or triviality. broadly, colloquial, countable, uncountable
"Who cares? This is all just semantics!"