Why study lexical meaning? Lexical meaning of the word examples

The concept of the lexical meaning of a word

The lexical meaning of a word is the correlation of the sound complex of a linguistic unit with one or another phenomenon of reality fixed in the minds of speakers.

Most words name objects, their attributes, quantity, actions, processes and act as full-fledged, independent words, performing a nominative function in the language (lat. nominatio- naming, name). Possessing common grammatical and syntactic meanings and functions, these words are combined into the categories of nouns, adjectives, numerals, verbs, adverbs, words of the state category. Their lexical meaning is complemented by grammatical ones. For example, the word newspaper denotes a certain subject; lexical meaning indicates that this is "a periodical in the form of large sheets, usually daily, dedicated to the events of current political and social life." Noun newspaper has the grammatical meanings of gender (feminine), number (this subject is thought of as one, not many) and case. Word I read calls the action - "perceive what is written, saying aloud or reproducing to oneself" and characterizes it as real, occurring at the moment of speech, performed by the speaker (and not by other persons).

Of the significant parts of speech, pronouns and modal words are deprived of the nominative function. The first only indicate objects or their signs: I, you, such, so much; they receive a specific meaning in speech, but cannot serve as a generalized name for a number of similar objects, features, or quantities. The second express the attitude of the speaker to the expressed thought: Maybe mail has already arrived.

Service parts of speech (prepositions, conjunctions, particles) also do not perform a nominative function, that is, they do not name objects, signs, actions, but are used as formal grammatical language means.

Lexical meanings of a word, their types, development and changes are studied by lexical semantics (semasiology) (gr. semasia- designation + logos- teaching). The grammatical meanings of the word are considered in the grammar of the modern Russian language.

All objects and phenomena of reality have their own names in the language. Words point to real objects, to our attitude towards them, which arose in the process of knowing the world around us. This connection of the word with the phenomena of reality (denotations) is non-linguistic in nature, and yet it is the most important factor in determining the nature of the word as a sign unit.

Words name not only specific objects that can be seen, heard or touched at the moment, but also concepts about these objects that arise in our minds.

The concept is a reflection in the minds of people of the general and essential features of the phenomena of reality, ideas about their properties. Such features can be the shape of an object, its function, color, size, similarity or difference with another object, etc. The concept is the result of a generalization of a mass of individual phenomena, during which a person is distracted from non-essential features, focusing on the main ones. Without such abstraction, i.e., without abstract representations, human thinking is impossible.

Concepts are formed and fixed in our minds with the help of words. The connection of words with the concept (significative factor) makes the word an instrument of human thinking. Without the ability of the word to name the concept, there would be no language itself. The designation of concepts in words allows us to get by with a relatively small number of linguistic signs. So, in order to single out one person from many people and name anyone, we use the word human. To denote all the richness and variety of colors of wildlife, there are words red, yellow, blue, green etc. The movement of various objects in space is expressed by the word goes (man, train, bus, icebreaker and even - ice, rain, snow and under.).

Explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language most capaciously reflect the systemic connections of words. They are lists of words of varying degrees of completeness and accuracy that make up the lexical system in all the diversity and complexity of its functioning in the language. Yes, the word island does not indicate geographical position, size, name, shape, fauna, flora of a particular island, therefore, abstracting from these particular features, we call this word any part of the land surrounded on all sides by water (in the ocean, sea, on a lake, river) Thus , in words those essential features and properties of objects are fixed, which make it possible to distinguish a whole class of objects from other classes.

However, not all words name any concept. They are not able to express unions, particles, prepositions, interjections, pronouns, proper names. Special mention should be made of the latter.

There are proper names that name singular concepts. These are the names of prominent people ( Shakespeare, Dante, Leo Tolstoy, Chaliapin, Rachmaninov), geographical names ( Volga, Baikal, Alps, America). By their nature, they cannot be a generalization and evoke the idea of a subject that is one of a kind.

personal names of people Alexander, Dmitry), surnames ( Golubev, Davydov), on the contrary, do not give rise to a certain idea of a person in our minds.

Common nouns ( historian, engineer, son-in-law) according to the distinguishing features of professions, degrees of kinship allow you to get some idea of \u200b\u200bthe people named by these words.

Animal names may approach generalized names. So, if the horse's name is Bulany, this indicates its gender and suit, Belka usually called animals that have white hair (although this can also be called a cat, a dog, and a goat). So different nicknames correlate differently with generalized names.

Words in Russian have 2 meanings: lexical and grammatical. If the second type is abstract, then the first is individual. In this article, we present the main types of lexical meanings of a word.

The lexical meaning or, as it is sometimes called, the meaning of the word, shows how the sound shell of the word correlates with objects or phenomena of the world around us. It should be noted that it does not contain the whole complex of features characteristic of a particular object.

What is the lexical meaning of a word?

The meaning of the word reflects only signs that allow you to distinguish one object from another. Its center is the stem of the word.

All types of lexical meanings of a word can be divided into 5 groups depending on:

correlations;
origin;
compatibility;
functions;
the nature of the connection.

This classification was proposed by the Soviet scientist Viktor Vladimirovich Vinogradov in the article "The main types of lexical meanings of the word" (1977). We will discuss this classification in more detail below.

Types by relation

From the nominative point of view (that is, by correlation), all meanings of the word are divided into direct and figurative. direct value is the main one. It is directly related to how one or another letter and sound form correlates with the concept that has developed in the minds of native speakers.

So, the word "cat" refers to a predatory animal of small size from the cat family, belonging to the order of mammals that exterminate rodents. A "knife" is a tool that is used for cutting; consists of blade and handle. adjective "green" denotes the color of the growing foliage.

Over time, the meaning of the word can change, obeying the currents characteristic of this or that time in the life of the people. So, back in the 18th century, the word "wife" was used in the sense of "woman." For the designation of "spouse" or "a woman who is married to a man" it began to be used much later. Similar changes occurred with the word "husband".

Figurative meaning words are derived from the main. With its help, one lexical unit is endowed with the properties of another on the basis of common or similar features. Thus, the adjective "dark" is used to describe a space that is immersed in darkness or in which there is no light.

But at the same time, this lexeme is quite often used in a figurative sense. Thus, the adjective "dark" can be used to describe something obscure (for example, manuscripts). It can also be used in relation to a person. In this context, the adjective "dark" would indicate that the person in question, uneducated or ignorant.

As a rule, the value transfer occurs according to one of the following criteria:

As can be seen from the above examples, the figurative meanings that have developed in words are somehow connected with the main one. Unlike the author's metaphors, which are widely used in fiction, figurative lexical meanings are stable and are found in the language much more often.

It should be noted that in the Russian language there is often a phenomenon when figurative meanings lose their figurativeness. So, the combinations “teapot spout” or “teapot handle” have closely entered the Russian language and are familiar to its speakers.

Lexical meanings by origin

All lexical units existing in the language have their own etymology. However, upon careful consideration, one can notice that the meaning of some units is easily deduced, and in the case of others it is quite difficult to understand what this or that word means. Based on this difference, a second group of lexical meanings is distinguished - by origin.

From the point of view of origin, there are two types of values:

Motivated;
Unmotivated.

In the first case, we are talking about lexical units formed by adding affixes. The meaning of the word is derived from the meaning of the stem and affixes. In the second case, the meaning of the lexeme does not depend on the meaning of its individual components, that is, it is non-derivative.

So, the category of unmotivated includes the words: “running”, “red”. Their derivatives are motivated: “to run”, “escape”, “blush”. Knowing the meaning of the lexical units underlying them, we can easily deduce the meaning of derivatives. However, the meaning of motivated words is not always so easy to deduce. Sometimes an etymological analysis is required.

Lexical meanings depending on compatibility

Each language imposes certain restrictions on the use of lexical units. Some units can only be used in certain contexts. In this case, we are talking about the compatibility of lexical units. From the point of view of compatibility, two types of values are distinguished:

free;
not free.

In the first case, we are talking about units that can be freely combined with each other. However, this freedom cannot be absolute. She is very conditional. So, with the verb "open" such nouns as "door", "window", "lid" can be freely used. At the same time, the words “packaging” or “crime” cannot be used with him. Thus, the meaning of the lexeme "open" dictates to us the rules, according to which certain concepts may or may not be compatible with it.

Unlike free ones, the compatibility of units with a non-free value is severely limited. As a rule, such lexemes are part of phraseological units or are syntactically conditioned.

In the first case, the units are connected phraseological meaning. For example, in the words "play" and "nerves", taken separately, there is no semantic component "intentionally annoying". And only when these lexemes are combined in the phraseological unit “play on the nerves”, they acquire this meaning. The adjective "bosom" cannot be used together with the word "enemy" or "comrade". According to the norms of the Russian language, this adjective is combined only with the noun "friend".

Syntactically conditional meaning is acquired by a word only when it performs a function unusual for it in a sentence. So, a noun can sometimes act as a predicate in a sentence: “And you are a hat!”

Functional types of lexical values

Each lexical meaning carries certain function. With the help of some units of language, we simply name objects or phenomena. Others we use to express some kind of assessment. There are two types of functional values:

nominative;
expressive-semantic.

The lexemes of the first type do not carry additional (evaluative) features. As an example, we can cite such language units as “look”, “man”, “drink”, “make noise”, etc.

The lexemes belonging to the second type, on the contrary, contain an evaluative feature. They are separate linguistic units, stand out in a separate dictionary entry and act as expressively colored synonyms for their neutral equivalents: “look” - “stare”, “drink” - “thump”.

Lexical meanings by the nature of the connection

Another important aspect of the meaning of a word is its relationship with other lexical units of the language. From this point of view, the following types of lexical meanings:

correlative (lexemes that are opposed to each other on the basis of some feature: "big" - "small");
autonomous (lexical units independent of each other: “hammer”, “saw”, “table”);
determinatives (lexemes with an expressive meaning, determined by the meaning of other lexical units: “huge” and “hefty” are determinatives for the adjective “large”).

Given by V.V. Vinogradov, the classification quite fully reflects the system of lexical meanings in the Russian language. However, the scientist does not mention another no less important aspect. Every language has words that have more than one meaning. In this case, we are talking about single-valued and polysemantic words.

Single and multiple words

As mentioned above, all words can be divided into two large groups:

unambiguous;
polysemantic.

Unambiguous lexemes are used to refer to only one specific object or phenomenon. Often, the term "monosemantic" is used to refer to them. The category of unambiguous words includes:

However, there are not so many such lexemes in the Russian language. Polysemantic or polysemantic words are much more widespread.

It is important to note that the term "polysemy" should in no case be confused with "homonymy". The difference between these linguistic phenomena is the relationship between the meanings of words.

For example, the word "escape" might mean:

leaving the place of serving a sentence (imprisonment) own will, thanks to a well-designed plan or by chance.
young plant stem with buds and leaves.

As you can see from this example, the given values are not related. Thus, we are talking about homonyms.

Let's give another example - "paper":

material that is made from cellulose;
document ( trans.).

Both meanings have the same semantic component, so this lexeme is multi-valued.

Where can you find the lexical meaning of a word?

In order to find out what a particular word means, you need to refer to the explanatory dictionary. They are given precise definition the words. Turning to the explanatory dictionary, you can not only find out the meaning of the lexical unit of interest, but also find examples of its use. In addition, the description of the meaning of the word helps to understand the difference between synonyms. All vocabulary in explanatory dictionary arranged alphabetically.

Such dictionaries are usually intended for native speakers. However, foreigners studying Russian can also use them.

As an example, you can provide the following dictionaries:

"Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language" - V.I. Dahl;
"Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language" - S.I. Ozhegov;
"Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language" - D.N. Ushakov;
"Dictionary of Russian onomastic terminology" - A.V. Superanskaya.

As mentioned above, in the explanatory dictionary you can find the lexical meanings of words in Russian and examples of their use. However, this is not all the information that this type of dictionaries provides. They also provide information about the grammatical and stylistic features of lexical units.

Vocabulary is a very important part of language science. She learns words and their meanings. It's no secret: the richer the language stock of a person, the more beautiful and figurative his speech. Most new words can be learned by reading. It often happens that a new word is found in a book or magazine, in which case a dictionary of lexical meanings will help, it is also called explanatory. The most common are those issued by V.I. Dalem and S.I. Ozhegov. It is they who trust modern science about language.

Vocabulary wealth of the Russian language

The language, including Russian, is a developing phenomenon. New cultures, inventions of science and technology appear, one civilization replaces another. Of course, all this is reflected in the language. Some words appear, some disappear. It is the vocabulary that reacts vividly to these changes. All this is the richness of the language. K. Paustovsky gave a very colorful explanation of the totality of words, saying that for each surrounding phenomenon or object there is a corresponding “good” word, or even more than one.

Scientists have proven that for one person to understand another, it is enough to have 4-5 thousand words in stock, but this is not enough for beautiful, figurative speech. The Russian language is one of the most beautiful, so it is simply necessary to use its wealth. Moreover, knowledge of individual words with their interpretations is not enough (for this, you can simply learn a dictionary of lexical meanings). It is much more important to know words related in meaning, their figurative meaning, understand and use antonyms, use homonymous units.

Lexical meaning of the word

The word is the most important unit of any language. It is from them that combinations and subsequently sentences are made, with which people communicate with each other. How to distinguish one word from another? With the help of phonetics. Lexical meaning will also help with this. This is what separates the words. They can denote, for example, objects, people or living beings ( table, teacher, wolf); natural phenomena ( wind, frost), actions ( run, watch), features ( beautiful, pink).

Over the centuries, words can change their lexical meaning. Take for example the word garden. Until the 20th century, this word also meant a garden. In modern times, the lexical meaning has changed: garden now it is a fenced area where vegetables are grown.

There are words whose lexical meaning is a certain image that is easy to imagine and depict: wood, cupboard, flower. For others, it is very abstract: love, grammar, music. The lexical meaning of the Russian language is summarized in explanatory dictionaries. There are several ways of interpretation: words that are identical in meaning. For example, path - road. Some dictionaries offer a detailed explanation: path- a certain place in space, through which they move.

Why you need to know the lexical meaning

It is very important to know the lexical meaning - this will save you from some spelling mistakes. For example:

try on Wedding Dresses- a tedious but enjoyable process.
She was always good at reconciling enemies.

In the first example, the word “try on” is used in the meaning of “try on”, so the root should be written e. In the second sentence, it is about the world, so the letter is required and fundamentally.

Lexical meaning differs not only words, but also morphemes. Yes, attachment at- used when it comes to the incompleteness of the action, close proximity, approximation or accession; pre- in cases where it means highest degree something ( funny - very funny, but: move (attachment), sit down (incompleteness), seaside (close to the sea).

There are also roots that have different lexical meanings. These are like - poppy-/-mok-; -equals-/-exactly-. If the word means immersion in liquid, you should write - poppy- (dip cookies in milk), another thing is the meaning of “pass, absorb liquid”, in this case writing is required - mok- (wet feet). Root - equals- should be written when talking about equality ( the equation); -exactly- used in the sense of something smooth, even ( trim bangs).

Single and multiple words

The richness of the words of the Russian language consists of those units that have several or only one lexical meaning. This The former have only one interpretation: birch, scalpel, Moscow, pizza. As can be seen from the examples, the group of single-valued words includes proper names, recently emerged or foreign words, also narrowly targeted. These are all kinds of terms, the names of professions, the names of animals.

There are many more polysemantic words in the language, that is, those that have several meanings. As a rule, interpretations unfold around a certain feature or meaning. The explanatory dictionary will tell you that the word is polysemantic. The meanings of such tokens are listed below the numbers. Let's take the word "earth" as an example. It has several interpretations:

One of the planets in the solar system.
Land - opposition to the concepts of "water" and "sky".
The soil is a fertile layer that allows you to grow all kinds of crops.
Territory owned by someone.
For some countries - a federal unit.

Direct and figurative meaning of the word

All can contain a direct or figurative interpretation. If the task “Explain the lexical meaning of words” is encountered, you need to look into the explanatory dictionary. There, next to the value, it will be indicated whether it is direct or figurative. The first is the main one; the second was formed on the basis of the main one according to the principle of similarity.

For example, consider the word "hat". First, its main meaning is a headdress with fields small size. Based on the similarity, a figurative interpretation was formed: top part any object, extended and flat - mushroom cap or nail.

It is figurative meanings that give speech a special figurativeness; on their basis, such tropes as metaphor ( hidden comparison: sheaf of hair), metonymy (adjacency of signs: silver plate) and synecdoche (the part is used instead of the whole: the peasant was actually a slave).

Sometimes there are cases when only a figurative meaning appears in the language, and to complete a task, such as “Determine the lexical meaning of words”, you will need not only sensible, but also. For example, this was the case with the adjective “red”. His direct meaning“beautiful” was preserved only in ancient toponyms (“Red Square”) or folklore (proverbs).

Homonyms

The meanings of words can be compared, contrasted. The program studies such relationships for grades 5-6. The lexical meaning of homonyms, synonyms and antonyms is very interesting. Consider all these types of words.

Homonyms are those words that are identical in pronunciation or spelling, but their meaning is completely different. Yes, the words carnations(flowers) and carnations(pointed rods for fastening materials) are spelled the same and pronounced differently. Another example: braid- type of hairstyle, and braid- agricultural implement. Homonyms can also be grammatical. So, in the phrases "flood the oven" and "bake pies." Word bake is a noun in the first case and a verb in the second. Concepts should not be confused The first does not imply any similarity between concepts, while the second is based on the principle of similarity of some feature.

Synonyms

Synonyms are words with identical lexical meaning. For example, the words comrade, shirt-guy "have the meaning of a close, trusted person. However, synonyms still differ in shades of meaning. Friend, for example, denotes a particularly close person.

Synonyms have different stylistic coloring. So, shirt-guy used in colloquial speech. As a rule, synonyms are words of one part of speech, but they can be stable combinations. Knowing the phenomenon of synonymy helps to avoid spelling errors. So to find out correct writing particles not with nouns or adjectives, you must follow the algorithm: "determine the lexical meaning and try to find a synonym without not: enemy - enemy".

Antonyms

Antonyms are words that differ diametrically in lexical meaning: friend - enemy; go - run; deep - shallow; up down. As you can see, the phenomenon of antonymy is typical for any parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. The use of such words gives speech a special expressiveness, helps to convey especially important thoughts to the listener or reader, therefore very often words that are opposite in meaning are found in folk sayings - proverbs. For example, In this case, "soft - hard" - antonyms.

As you can see, the Russian language is very diverse, so the topic of word interpretation has been studied for several years. In addition, it is included in the main school exams, where, for example, the task “Explain the lexical meaning of words” or “Choose a synonym / antonym / homonym for the word” is found, etc.

(neologisms);

professional words (professionalisms);

dialect words (dialects, dialectisms);

slang words

professional jargon;
thieves' jargon (slang).

There are other groups, the study of which is beyond the scope of the school curriculum. On our site there is an article about the Russian language and a selection of words on various topics.

Single and multiple words

The same words of the Russian language can name different objects, signs, actions. In this case, the word has several lexical meanings and is called polysemantic. A word that denotes one object, sign, action and, accordingly, has only one lexical word is called unambiguous. Polysemantic words are found in all independent parts of speech, except for numerals. Examples of polysemantic words: forge a chain and ice a pond, a leaf of a tree and a sheet of paper, a silver tray and a silver age.

Direct and figurative meanings of words

Words in Russian can have direct and figurative meanings. The direct meaning of the word serves to designate a specific object, attribute, action or quantity of an object. The figurative meaning of the word, in addition to the already existing basic meaning (direct), denotes a new object, sign, action. For example: gold bars (direct meaning) and golden hands / words / hair (figurative meaning). The figurative meaning is sometimes called indirect, it is one of the meanings of a polysemantic word. In Russian, there are words whose figurative meaning has become the main one. For example: the nose of a person (direct meaning) and the bow of a boat (figurative → direct meaning).

Homonyms

Words of the Russian language of the same part of speech, identical in sound and spelling, but different in lexical meaning, are called homonyms. Examples of homonyms: crane (lifting and plumbing), environment (habitat and day of the week), forest (pine forest and chemical element). Classification, types of homonyms, as well as examples of words are given in a separate article - homonyms.

Synonyms

Russian words of the same part of speech, denoting the same thing, but having different shades lexical meaning and use in speech are called synonyms. For a polysemantic word, synonyms can refer to different lexical meanings. Examples of words that are synonyms: big and large (adjectives), build and construct (verbs), land and territory (nouns), boldly and bravely (adverbs). Good and understandable material about synonyms and examples of the difference in their lexical meaning are given on the website of the dictionary of synonyms.

Antonyms

Words of the Russian language of the same part of speech with the opposite lexical meaning are called antonyms. For polysemantic words, antonyms can refer to different lexical meanings. Examples of words that are antonyms: war - peace (nouns), white - black (adjectives), high - low (adverbs), run - stand (verbs). Materials with examples and explanations are available on the antonym dictionary website.

Paronyms

Words of the Russian language that are similar in spelling and sound, but have a different semantic meaning, are called paronyms. Paronyms have morphological division, lexical-semantic division. Examples of words that are paronyms: put on - put on (verbs), ignorant - ignorant (nouns), economic - economical (adjectives). Definition, classification and examples are given in the dictionary of paronyms.

Group comparison

* The lexical meaning of words from the paronymic series is different. It can be similar, opposite or simply different (neither similar nor opposite).

Meaning of LEXICAL MEANING OF THE WORD in the Dictionary of Linguistic Terms

LEXICAL MEANING OF THE WORD

Nominative (direct) value with l 6-in a. Lexical meaning directly related to the reflection in the mind of objects, phenomena, relationships objective reality. Knife (item name), beautiful (quality name), read (action name), ten (number name), fast (action attribute name). Words that have a nominative meaning form free phrases.

Phraseologically associated value the words. Lexical meaning that exists or acquires only in composition phraseological unit. The adjective fraught in the meaning of “capable of causing, giving rise to something” realizes this meaning in the phraseological unit fraught with consequences. In the phraseological turnover us of fire and fire, both nouns acquire the meaning of "nuisance"

The syntactically determined meaning of a word. Lexical meaning acquired by a word only in a certain syntactic function. The noun decree in the function of a predicate with negation does not acquire meaning ^ cannot serve as an authority, basis, indication for anyone "Samodur is trying to prove that no one has a decree for him and that he will do whatever he wants (Dobrolyubov).

The lexical meaning is made up of a real meaning, the carrier of which is the root of the word (non-derivative stem), and a derivational meaning expressed by word-building affixes. Meaning " little house” in the word house is made up of a real (objective) meaning contained in the root house-, and a derivational meaning expressed by the suffix of the real reduction -ik. In words with a non-derivative stem, the lexical and real meanings are the same. see real value, derivational value.

Dictionary of linguistic terms. 2012

Why study lexical meaning? Lexical meaning of the word examples

The concept of the lexical meaning of a word

What is the lexical meaning of a word?

Types by relation

Lexical meanings by origin

Lexical meanings depending on compatibility

Functional types of lexical values

Lexical meanings by the nature of the connection

Single and multiple words

Where can you find the lexical meaning of a word?

Vocabulary wealth of the Russian language

Lexical meaning of the word

Why you need to know the lexical meaning

Single and multiple words

Direct and figurative meaning of the word

Homonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Single and multiple words

Direct and figurative meanings of words

Homonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Paronyms

Group comparison

Meaning of LEXICAL MEANING OF THE WORD in the Dictionary of Linguistic Terms

See also interpretations, synonyms, word meanings and what is the LEXICAL MEANING of a WORD in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books: