sematic

American  

[si-mat-ik] / sɪˈmæt ɪk /

adjective

Biology.

1. serving as a sign or warning of danger, as the conspicuous colors or markings of certain poisonous animals.

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sematic British  

/ sɪˈmætɪk /

adjective

1. (of the conspicuous coloration of certain animals) acting as a warning, esp to potential predators

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Etymology

Origin of sematic

1885–90; < Greek sēmat- (stem of sêma ) sign + -ic

Example Sentences

He is also demonstrating sematic aphasias: “steak mountain or steak hill,” instead of “Snake mountain.”

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2024

The system functioned through the use of tags, identifiers embedded in each word to ensure appropriate syntactical and sematic applications, that worked in conjunction with templates that would properly place the words in a sentence.

From Slate • Aug. 29, 2017

It will be found that in many cases the argument here made use of applies equally to the origin of cryptic and sematic colours.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various

It is not, at this point, necessary to treat sematic characters at any greater length.

From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)

In such cases we often see the combination of cryptic and sematic methods, the animal being concealed until disturbed, when it instantly assumes an aposematic attitude.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various