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{{Short description|Semantic language unit of meaning}}
A '''sememe''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɛ|m|iː|m}}; {{ety|grc|''σημαίνω'' (sēmaínō)|mean, signify}}) is a [[semantic]] language unit of meaning, analogous to a [[morpheme]]. The concept is relevant in [[Structural linguistics|structural]] [[semiotics]].

A seme is a proposed unit of transmitted or intended meaning; it is atomic or indivisible. A sememe can be the meaning expressed by a morpheme, such as the English pluralizing morpheme ''-s'', which carries the sememic feature [+ plural]. Alternatively, a single sememe (for example [go] or [move]) can be conceived as the abstract representation of such verbs as ''skate'', ''roll'', ''jump'', ''slide'', ''turn'', or ''boogie''. It can be thought of as the semantic counterpart to any of the following: a [[meme]] in a culture, a [[gene]] in a genome, or an [[atom]] (or, more generally, an [[elementary particle]]) in a substance. A [[Seme (semantics)|seme]] is the name for the smallest unit of meaning recognized in [[semantics]], referring to a single characteristic of a sememe.

There are five types of sememes: two [[denotation]]al and three [[connotation]]al, the latter occurring only in phrase units (they do not reflect the [[Denotation (semiotics)|denotation]]):<ref>[http://www.krsu.edu.kg/vestnik/2003/v2/a04.html Pragmatic and syntagmatic aspects of phraseology], Krassnoff (in Russian)</ref>
# Denotational 1: Primary denotation, for example "head" (body);
# Denotational 2: Secondary denotation by resemblance with other denotation: "head" (ship);
# Connotational 1: Analogous in function or nature as the original denotation, for example, "head" used as managing or leading positions, which is similar to the role or function of "head" in the operation of the human body;
# Connotational 2: Emotive, e.g. meaning in "honey";
# Connotational 3: Evaluative, e.g. meaning in "sneak" – move silently and secretly for a bad purpose

The [[operational definition]] of [[synonym]]y depends on the distinctions between these classes of sememes. For example, the differentiation between what some academics call [[cognitive synonymy|cognitive synonyms]] and near-synonyms<ref name="Stanojević_2009">{{Citation |last=Stanojević |first=Maja |year=2009 |title= Cognitive synonymy: a general overview |journal=Facta Universitatis, Linguistics and Literature Series |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=193–200 |url=http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/lal/lal200902/lal200902-05.pdf |postscript=.}}</ref> depends on these differences.

A related concept is that of the ''episememe'' (as described in the works of [[Leonard Bloomfield]]), which is a unit of meaning corresponding to the [[tagmeme]].

==See also==
* [[Emic unit]]
* [[Memetics]]
* [[Problem of universals]]
* [[Semantic field]]
* [[Word sense]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book|last=Bazell|first=Charles Ernest|title=The sememe|year=1954|location=in: Litera I. Istanbul|pages=17–31}} Reprinted in: {{cite book |editor-last=Hamp |editor-first= Eric P. |editor2=Fred W. Householder |editor3=Robert Austerlitz |title= Readings in linguistics II |year= 1966 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |pages=329–40 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Vakulenko|first=Serhii|title=The Notion of Sememe in the Work of Adolf Noreen|year=2005|journal=The Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas Bulletin |volume=44|issue=1|pages=19–35|doi=10.1080/02674971.2005.11745606 |s2cid=148074668 }}

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[[Category:Semantic units]]