Meaning
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- | [[Image:Theatre from Ars Memoriae by Robert Fludd.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''[[Ars Memoriae]]'': The [[Theatre]] ([[1619]]) - [[Robert Fludd]] | + | {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" |
+ | | style="text-align: left;" | | ||
+ | 'The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words [[meaning|mean]] so many different things' [['The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things'|[...]]] --''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'' | ||
+ | <hr> | ||
+ | "For a large class of cases of the employment of the word ‘[[meaning]]’—though not for all—this word can be explained in this way: the meaning of a word is its [[utility|use]] in the language." --''[[Philosophical Investigations]]'' (1953) by Ludwig Wittgenstein, see [[picture theory of language]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | <hr> | ||
+ | "[[Words: Can't say what they mean don't mean what they say]]" --[[Tom Tom Club]] | ||
+ | |} | ||
+ | [[Image:Theatre from Ars Memoriae by Robert Fludd.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Ars Memoriae]]'': The [[Theatre]] ([[1619]]) - [[Robert Fludd]] | ||
<br> | <br> | ||
“In the [[illusion|illusory]] [[babel]]s of [[language]], an [[artist]] might [[avant-garde|advance]] specifically to get [[lost]], and to [[drugs|intoxicate]] himself in dizzying syntaxes, seeking odd [[intersection]]s of [[meaning]], [[strange]] corridors of history, [[unexpected]] echoes, [[unknown]] humors, or [[void]]s of [[knowledge…]] but this quest is [[risky]], full of bottomless [[fiction]]s and endless architectures and [[counter]]-architectures… at the end, if there is an end, are perhaps only [[meaningless]] reverberations.” --[[Robert Smithson]]]] | “In the [[illusion|illusory]] [[babel]]s of [[language]], an [[artist]] might [[avant-garde|advance]] specifically to get [[lost]], and to [[drugs|intoxicate]] himself in dizzying syntaxes, seeking odd [[intersection]]s of [[meaning]], [[strange]] corridors of history, [[unexpected]] echoes, [[unknown]] humors, or [[void]]s of [[knowledge…]] but this quest is [[risky]], full of bottomless [[fiction]]s and endless architectures and [[counter]]-architectures… at the end, if there is an end, are perhaps only [[meaningless]] reverberations.” --[[Robert Smithson]]]] | ||
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[[Image:The Heart Has Its Reasons by Odilon Redon.jpg |thumb|right|200px|''[[The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing]]'' (c.[[1887]]) by [[Odilon Redon]], a phrase from the ''[[Pensées]]'' ([[1669]]) by [[Blaise Pascal]]]][[Image:Sign and signifier as imagined by de Saussure.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Signified]] ([[concept]]) and [[signifier]] ([[sound-image]]) as imagined by [[Ferdinand de Saussure|de Saussure]]]] | [[Image:The Heart Has Its Reasons by Odilon Redon.jpg |thumb|right|200px|''[[The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing]]'' (c.[[1887]]) by [[Odilon Redon]], a phrase from the ''[[Pensées]]'' ([[1669]]) by [[Blaise Pascal]]]][[Image:Sign and signifier as imagined by de Saussure.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Signified]] ([[concept]]) and [[signifier]] ([[sound-image]]) as imagined by [[Ferdinand de Saussure|de Saussure]]]] | ||
[[Image:The-bouba-kiki-effect.png|thumb|right|200px|The [[Bouba/kiki effect]] (1929)]] | [[Image:The-bouba-kiki-effect.png|thumb|right|200px|The [[Bouba/kiki effect]] (1929)]] | ||
- | [[Image:The Big Swallow.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This page '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is part of the [[linguistics]] series.<br> | ||
- | <small>Illustration: a close-up of a [[mouth]] in the film ''[[The Big Swallow]]'' (1901)</small>]] | ||
{{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
'''Meaning''' refers to the the symbolic [[value]] of [[something]], its significance. In semantics it refers to the [[object]]s or [[concept]] that a [[word]] or [[phrase]] [[denote]]s, or that which a sentence says. | '''Meaning''' refers to the the symbolic [[value]] of [[something]], its significance. In semantics it refers to the [[object]]s or [[concept]] that a [[word]] or [[phrase]] [[denote]]s, or that which a sentence says. | ||
- | '''Meaning''' may refer to: | + | '''Meaning''' may also refer to: |
* [[Meaning (linguistics)]], which is communicated through the use of languages | * [[Meaning (linguistics)]], which is communicated through the use of languages | ||
* [[Meaning (semiotics)]] has to do with the distribution of signs in sign relations | * [[Meaning (semiotics)]] has to do with the distribution of signs in sign relations | ||
- | * Meaning as a relationship between [[ontology]] and [[truth]] | + | * [[Meaning (philosophy of language)]], definition, elements, and types of meaning discussed in philosophy |
- | * Meaning as a [[reference]] or [[Logical equivalence|equivalence]] | + | * [[Meaning (psychology)]], epistemological position, in psychology as well as philosophy, linguistics, semiotics and sociology |
- | * [[Meaning (philosophy of language)]] | + | |
- | * [[Meaning (psychology)]] | + | |
- | * Meaning as [[value (personal and cultural)|values]], a [[value system]] or as derived from [[value theory]] | + | |
* [[Meaning (existential)]], as it is understood in contemporary [[existentialism]] | * [[Meaning (existential)]], as it is understood in contemporary [[existentialism]] | ||
* The [[meaning of life]], a notion concerning the nature of human existence | * The [[meaning of life]], a notion concerning the nature of human existence | ||
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*''[[Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things]]'' (1991) by Stephen Bayley | *''[[Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things]]'' (1991) by Stephen Bayley | ||
==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
- | 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”). | + | 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”). |
- | ==Citations== | + | |
- | *[['The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things']] | + | |
- | *"[[Words: Can't say what they mean don't mean what they say]]" --[[Tom Tom Club]] | + | |
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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* [[Definition]] | * [[Definition]] | ||
* [[Denotation]] | * [[Denotation]] | ||
+ | * [[Dictum]] | ||
* [[Dictionary]] | * [[Dictionary]] | ||
* [[Double entendre]] | * [[Double entendre]] | ||
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* ''[[Man's Search for Meaning]]'' (1946) by Viktor Frankl | * ''[[Man's Search for Meaning]]'' (1946) by Viktor Frankl | ||
* [[Meaninglessness]] | * [[Meaninglessness]] | ||
+ | * [[Meme]] | ||
* [[Metaphor]] | * [[Metaphor]] | ||
* [[Nonsense]] | * [[Nonsense]] | ||
* [[Opinion]] | * [[Opinion]] | ||
* [[Philosophers encroaching on the province of grammarians]] | * [[Philosophers encroaching on the province of grammarians]] | ||
+ | * [[Polysemy]] | ||
* [[Purpose]] | * [[Purpose]] | ||
- | * [[Semantics]] for a general article on the study of meaning | + | * [[Semantics]] |
+ | * [[Sententiae]] | ||
* [[Significance]] | * [[Significance]] | ||
+ | * [[Symbolism]] | ||
* [[Thesaurus]] | * [[Thesaurus]] | ||
- | * [[Tropes]] | + | * [[Trope]] |
+ | * [[Utterance]] | ||
* ''[[Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?]]'', a painting by Paul Gauguin | * ''[[Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?]]'', a painting by Paul Gauguin | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
{{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} |
Current revision
'The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things' [...] --Through the Looking-Glass "For a large class of cases of the employment of the word ‘meaning’—though not for all—this word can be explained in this way: the meaning of a word is its use in the language." --Philosophical Investigations (1953) by Ludwig Wittgenstein, see picture theory of language "Words: Can't say what they mean don't mean what they say" --Tom Tom Club |
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Meaning refers to the the symbolic value of something, its significance. In semantics it refers to the objects or concept that a word or phrase denotes, or that which a sentence says.
Meaning may also refer to:
- Meaning (linguistics), which is communicated through the use of languages
- Meaning (semiotics) has to do with the distribution of signs in sign relations
- Meaning (philosophy of language), definition, elements, and types of meaning discussed in philosophy
- Meaning (psychology), epistemological position, in psychology as well as philosophy, linguistics, semiotics and sociology
- Meaning (existential), as it is understood in contemporary existentialism
- The meaning of life, a notion concerning the nature of human existence
Titles
- Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (1911) by Henri Bergson
- Subculture: The Meaning of Style (1979) by Dick Hebdige
- Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things (1991) by Stephen Bayley
Etymology
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”).
See also
- Absurdity
- Ambiguity
- Context
- Communication
- Connotation
- Definition
- Denotation
- Dictum
- Dictionary
- Double entendre
- Hermeneutics
- Intention
- Interpretation
- Language
- Linguistics
- Logotherapy
- Man's Search for Meaning (1946) by Viktor Frankl
- Meaninglessness
- Meme
- Metaphor
- Nonsense
- Opinion
- Philosophers encroaching on the province of grammarians
- Polysemy
- Purpose
- Semantics
- Sententiae
- Significance
- Symbolism
- Thesaurus
- Trope
- Utterance
- Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, a painting by Paul Gauguin