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

Clear language, Orwell suggests, is a semantic necessity as well as a moral one. —Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2024

For instance, my company uses and supports clients with tools that enable enterprise-grade ingestion and semantic modeling, like Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft Fabric. —Robbie Morrison, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024

Used to store, classify and manage data, a knowledge graph organizes information on the basis of its interlinked values, concepts, relationships and events which are defined with semantic values to establish the relationship that exists between those data entities. —Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024

And yet…the rhyme schemes, the reduplication, the semantic shifts, the conversions, the deliberate grammatical oddities, and rich double entendres–Carpenter is, for some people, the greatest poet to have ever put pen to paper. —Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 8 Oct. 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