semantics

n. study of the meaning and use of words and phrases

Semantics (Greek sēmantikos, giving signs, significant, symptomatic, from sēma , sign) refers to aspects of meaning, as expressed in language or other systems of signs. Semantics contrasts with syntax, which is the study of the structure of sign systems (focusing on the form, not meaning). Related to semantics is the field of pragmatics, which studies the practical use of signs by agents or communities of interpretation within particular circumstances and contexts. By the usual convention that calls a study or a theory by the name of its subject matter, semantics may also denote the theoretical study of meaning in systems of signs.
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Noun
1. the study of language meaning
(hypernym) linguistics
(hyponym) deixis

The study of relations between a representation and what it represents. <Discussion> <References> Chris Eliasmith

The view that the meaning of a representation is the role of that representation in the cognitive life of the agent. It is an extension of the well known "use" theory of meaning as it supplements external use by including the role of a symbol inside a computer or a brain.
<Discussion > <References > Ned Block

topic map 

<theory> The meaning of a string in some language, as opposed to syntax which describes how symbols may be combined independent of their meaning.
The semantics of a programming language is a function from programs to answers. A program is a closed term and, in practical languages, an answer is a member of the syntactic category of values. The two main kinds are denotational semantics and operational semantics.
(1995-06-21)