semantic

adjective

se·​man·​tic si-ˈman-tik 

variants or less commonly semantical

si-ˈman-ti-kəl 

1

: of or relating to meaning in language

2

: of or relating to semantics

semantically

si-ˈman-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of semantic in a Sentence

the process of semantic development

Recent Examples on the Web

Open-source deepfake detection solutions utilize various methods, such as analyzing texture and semantic features against extensive image datasets, focusing on anomalies in different regions of an image, employing multi-modal approaches to examine image layers, and recognizing fraud patterns. —Andrew Sever, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024

This is a term that refers to a word’s actual form—its appearance on page or screen, its sound to the ear, its feel on the tongue—as opposed to its semantic meaning. —Matthew Kirschenbaum, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2024

This would involve a suite of tests—administered in the course of hours, possibly days—that examine a person’s attention, memory, mood, and semantic fluency. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 18 July 2024

But the language processing in our brains will need to involve more than just different semantic categories being processed by different groups of neurons. —Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 17 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Greek sēmantikós "(of sounds) conveying meaning, significant, (of a circumstance) indicative," from sēmantós, verbal adjective of sēmaínein "to indicate, point out, signify, make a signal, give a sign, (in middle voice) mark, identify" (verbal derivative from the base of sēmat-, sêma "distinguishing mark, sign, token, signal, omen, tomb" and sēmeîon "marking, sign, token, signal") + -ikos -ic entry 1; sēm- in sêma and sēmeîon of uncertain origin

Note: The base sēm-, Doric sām- has been compared with Sanskrit dhyāma "thought" (attested only in lexica) and dhyā́yati "s/he thinks, contemplates." Greek sêma would then be the outcome of Indo-European *d^hi̯eh₂-mn̥-. The meanings "sign" and "thought" are too far apart, however, to support such an etymology. The derivative sēmeîon is peculiar in that -mat- is a suffix and would not ordinarily be split apart in order to add another suffix. A comparable formation is mnêma "reminder, record, memorial" and the near-synonymous mnēmeîon, though in this case the ulterior etymology is clear.

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

semantic

adjective

se·​man·​tic si-ˈmant-ik 

1

: of or relating to meaning in language

2

: of or relating to semantics

semantically

-ˈmant-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb