significatum Linguistics and Semiotics.
(sɪgnɪfɪˈkɑːtəm)
[L., neut. sing. pa. pple. of significāre to signify.]
That which is signified or denoted; spec. = signifié. Opp. significans.
| 1865 S. H. Hodgson Time & Space ii. 44 It is of the utmost importance in reasoning to distinguish which kind of object or significatum it is which is expressed, or concealed, by a word or set of words. 1946 C. Morris Signs, Lang. & Behavior 17 Those conditions which are such that whatever fulfills them is a denotatum will be called the significatum of the sign. 1964 [see significans]. 1974 G. Leech Semantics v. 73 The set of conditions (e.g. the qualities of being edible, tasty, nourishing) which make the bone a denotatum of S1 [sc. a buzzer sound] constitute the significatum of the sign. |