semiotics

noun

se·​mi·​ot·​ics ˌsē-mē-ˈä-tiks 

ˌse-mē-,

ˌsē-ˌmī-

variants or semiotic

ˌsē-mē-ˈä-tik 

ˌse-mē-,

ˌsē-ˌmī-

plural semiotics

: a general philosophical theory of signs and symbols that deals especially with their function in both artificially constructed and natural languages and comprises syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics

semiotic adjective

semiotician

ˌsē-mē-ə-ˈti-shən 

ˌse-mē-

ˌsē-ˌmī-

noun

semioticist

ˌsē-mē-ˈä-tə-sist 

ˌse-mē-

ˌsē-ˌmī-

noun

Examples of semiotics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The era of high theory brought a dizzying and contentious parade of new approaches and isms, including deconstruction, Marxism, psychoanalysis, feminism, semiotics and reader-response theory. —Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2023

Like, literally just go to the most basic semiotics of it. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2023

This account is divided into four sections, each of which is structured as a triad (philosophy, psychology and physiology; logic, semiotics and reproduction; religion, hermeneutics and evolution; law, grammar and speech). —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2012

In the semiotics of Qatar 2022, the many meanings of a showdown between the Great Satan and the Islamic Republic were almost too much to process. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2022

Word History

Etymology

semiotic "of the science of signs" (earlier, "of the symptoms of disease," borrowed from New Latin sēmeiōticus, borrowed from Greek sēmiōtikós "observant of signs," from sēmeiō-, variant stem of sēmeióomai, sēmeioústhai "to interpret from signs, infer" — derivative of sēmeîon "marking, sign, signal"— + -t-, verbal adjective formative + -ikos -ic entry 1) + -ics, after German Semiotik or French sémiotique — more at semantic

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above