Meanings
- uncountableThe study of signs and symbols, especially as means of language or communication.
- dateduncountableThe study of medical signs and symptoms; symptomatology.
Synonyms & antonyms
noun(philosophy) a philosophical theory of the functions of signs and symbols
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekσημειωτικός“fitted for marking, portending”
- Englishsemiotics
Coined by John Locke from Ancient Greek σημειωτικός (sēmeiōtikós, “fitted for marking, portending”), from σημειόω (sēmeióō, “to mark, interpret as a portend”), from σημεῖον (sēmeîon, “a mark, sign, token”), from σῆμα (sêma, “mark, sign”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic سميوطيقا
- سميوطيقاstudy of signs
Catalan semiòtica
- semiòticastudy of signs
Chinese Mandarin 符號語言學 /符号语言学, 符號學 /符号学
- 符號語言學 /符号语言学 (fúhào yǔyánxué)study of signs
- 符號學 /符号学 (fúhàoxué)study of signs
- 記號學 /记号学 (jìhaoxué)study of signs
Czech sémiotika
- sémiotikastudy of signs
Danish semiotik
- semiotikstudy of signs
Dutch semiotiek
- semiotiekstudy of signs
Esperanto semiotiko
- semiotikostudy of signs
Finnish semiotiikka
- semiotiikkastudy of signs
French sémiotique
- sémiotiquestudy of signs
German Semiotik
- Semiotikstudy of signs
Greek σημειολογία
- σημειολογία (simeiología)study of signs
Hindi संकेतविज्ञान
- संकेतविज्ञान (saṅketvijñān)study of signs
Indonesian ilmu tanda, semiotika
- ilmu tandastudy of signs
- semiotikastudy of signs
Italian semiotica
- semioticastudy of signs
Japanese 記号論
- 記号論 (kigōron)study of signs
Norwegian Bokmål semiotikk
- semiotikkstudy of signs
Persian نشانهشناسی
- نشانهشناسی (nešâne-šenâsi)study of signs
Polish semiotyka, semiologia
- semiotykastudy of signs
- semiologiastudy of signs
Portuguese semiótica
- semióticastudy of signs
Romanian semiotică
- semioticăstudy of signs
Russian семио́тика
- семио́тика (semiótika)study of signs
Spanish semiótica
- semióticastudy of signs
Swedish semiotik
- semiotikstudy of signs
Turkish göstergebilim
- göstergebilimstudy of signs
Vietnamese kí hiệu học
- kí hiệu họcstudy of signs
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
semiotics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semiotics
“semiotics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semiotics. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “semiotics,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semiotics.
Source: semiotics on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.