lexical semantics

[/ˈlɛksɪkəl səˈmæntɪks/]
noun
semântica lexical
1. The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words and how word meanings relate to one another within a language system
Lexical semantics examines how synonyms differ in subtle ways and how word meanings change over time.
A semântica lexical examina como sinônimos diferem de maneiras sutis e como os significados das palavras mudam ao longo do tempo.
2. The study of relationships between words such as synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, and meronymy
In lexical semantics, we analyze word families and semantic fields to understand conceptual organization.
Na semântica lexical, analisamos famílias de palavras e campos semânticos para entender a organização conceitual.
3. The investigation of how individual word meanings contribute to phrase and sentence meaning
Lexical semantics helps explain why 'bright student' and 'bright light' use the same adjective in different ways.
A semântica lexical ajuda a explicar por que 'estudante brilhante' e 'luz brilhante' usam o mesmo adjetivo de formas diferentes.
Lexical semantics is a formal academic discipline equally important in both Brazilian Portuguese and English linguistics education. The term is used consistently across academic institutions in both countries. In Brazil, it's typically taught as part of linguistics programs (linguística) at universities. The study has grown in importance with computational linguistics and natural language processing applications.
Synonyms / Sinônimos
word meaningsemantic analysis of wordsword semanticslexical analysis
Antonyms / Antônimos
syntaxphonetics

Regional Variations

General Brazilian Portuguese
semântica lexical
Standard academic and linguistic terminology used in universities and linguistic research
Portugal
semântica lexical
Identical usage in European Portuguese academic contexts
General American English
lexical semantics
Primary term used in English-speaking linguistics departments and academic publications

Related Words

semanticsvocabularyetymologylinguistic meaningsemantic fieldsynonymyantonymypolysemyhomonymy

Related Idioms & Phrases

semantic field analysis
word relationship mapping
meaning in context
Look up more words on Fala2Me
The free English-Portuguese dictionary with real Brazilian accents, NYC slang, conjugator and more
Open Fala2Me →