meaning

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   What a word, sign, or action expresses or stands for.

   What is the meaning of this sentence?

2. 2
   noun

   The purpose, value, or importance of something.

   Many people search for the meaning of life.

3. 3
   noun

   What a person intends to say or do; intention.

   It was their meaning to take only what they needed.

From Middle English mening, menyng, equivalent to mean + -ing. Cognate with Scots mening (“intent, purpose, sense, meaning”), West Frisian miening (“opinion, mind”), Dutch mening (“view, opinion, judgement”), German Meinung (“opinion, view, mind, idea”), Danish and Swedish mening (“meaning, sense, sentence, opinion”), Icelandic meining (“meaning”).

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