denotation

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The primary, surface, literal, or explicit meaning of a signifier such as 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.

   The denotations of the two expressions "the morning star" and "the evening star" are the same (i.e. both expressions denote the planet Venus), but their connotations are different.

2. 2
   noun

   the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression

3. 3
   noun

   the act of indicating or pointing out by name

4. 4
   noun

   The act of denoting, or something (such as a symbol) that denotes

5. 5
   noun

   The intension and extension of a word

6. 6
   noun

   Something signified or referred to; a particular meaning of a symbol

7. 7
   noun

   Any mathematical object which describes the meanings of expressions from the languages, formalized in the theory of denotational semantics

8. 8
   noun

   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.

Etymology

From Late Latin dēnotātiō, from Latin dēnotāre (“to denote, mark out”) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns of action), from dē- (“completely”) + notāre (“to mark”); equivalent to denote + -ation.