semiotics

[ see-mee-ot-iks, sem-ee-, see-mahy- ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior; the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures, or clothing.
2. a general theory of signs and symbolism, usually divided into the branches of pragmatics, semantics, and syntactics.

semiotics

/ ˌsiːmɪ-; ˌsɛmɪˈɒtɪks /

noun

1. See pragmatics, syntactics, semantics
   the study of signs and symbols, esp the relations between written or spoken signs and their referents in the physical world or the world of ideas See also semantics syntactics pragmatics
2. the scientific study of the symptoms of disease; symptomatology

Other Words From

• se·mi·o·ti·cian [see-mee-, uh, -, tish, -, uh, n, sem-ee-, see-mahy-], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of semiotics¹

First recorded in 1875–80; semiotic, -ics

Example Sentences

Because these animals were going to be surrounded by street signs we chose to use the concept of semiotics in the design project.

From Washington Post

In semiotics, a word is called a signifier, and what it means or describes is the signified.

From Vox

I resisted the then-loud siren song of Semiotics at Brown, and studied English instead.

From The Daily Beast

So far, the semiotics out of Copenhagen Chic have split into (melting) poles.

From The Daily Beast

When she became an Islamic revolutionary, the chador was all about powerful semiotics.

From The Daily Beast

To people attuned to semiotics, the ad was a powerful visual device.

From Project Gutenberg

Moreover, Charles Sanders Peirce considered semiotics as being the logic of vagueness.

From Project Gutenberg

His semiotics is the result of the fundamental pragmatic philosophy he developed.

From Project Gutenberg