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Glite Dictionary
🔤 A meaning unit 🤒 A symptom
seme

seme

9.9
A small part of meaning that helps define a word or sign
  • noun
  • /ˈsiːmi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : seme
  • The concept of a seme helps us analyze the different meanings associated with words in a text.

Examples

  • Inasmuch as the semes of trap may, depending upon the circumstances and the point of view, be associated with ideas either positive or negative, good or bad, affirmative or subversive, the image of the spider web can represent notions situated at either end of these poles.

    Academic text (1991)

  • In linguistics, a seme is essential for understanding how words convey meanings.

  • At this second stage, a real network of meanings is woven inasmuch as interconnected references to plants convey a seme of sexuality.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Each seme contributes to the overall meaning of a word in semiotics.

Synonyms

morpheme
vsseme
  • Specialized
1 7.7

The smallest part of a word that has meaning

is broader, covering meaning units in semiotics beyond language
eme
vsseme
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small unit in language like a single sound or a word part

is specifically the basic unit of meaning not just a naming suffix

Surface Forms

seme singular
semes plural

Etymology

Seme comes from the Greek root sēma, meaning 'sign', the same root you see in semantics. It is like a tiny 'sign' inside a word that shows one small part of its meaning, which is why language experts use it for the smallest unit of meaning.