WIKTIONARY

denotation

Noun

∙ The act of denoting, or something (such as a symbol) that denotes
∙ The primary, literal, or explicit meaning of a word, phrase, or symbol; that which a word denotes, as contrasted with its connotation; the aggregate or set of objects of which a word may be predicated. logic, linguistics, semiotics
∙ The intension and extension of a word philosophy, logic
∙ Something signified or referred to; a particular meaning of a symbol semantics
∙ The surface or literal meaning encoded to a signifier, and the definition most likely to appear in a dictionary semiotics
∙ Any mathematical object which describes the meanings of expressions from the languages, formalized in the theory of denotational semantics computer science
∙ A first level of analysis: what the audience can visually see on a page. Denotation often refers to something literal, and avoids being a metaphor. media-studies

English Dictionary

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