connotation (n.)

A term used in SEMANTICS as part of a classification of types of MEANING; opposed to DENOTATION. Its main application is with reference to the emotional associations (personal or communal) which are suggested by, or are part of the meaning of, a LINGUISTIC UNIT, especially a LEXICAL ITEM. Denotation, by contrast, covers the relationship between a linguistic unit and the non-linguistic entities to which it refers. (The traditional philosophical use of ‘connotation’ and ‘denotation’ is quite different: here, the meanings involved largely correspond to the distinction between SENSE and REFERENCE, the former being concerned with the relationships of equivalence between terms and PROPOSITIONS, the latter with their external-world status and truth-value.) For example, the connotations of the lexical item December might include ‘bad weather’, ‘dark evenings’, etc. (for north Europeans, at least), or ‘parties’, ‘Christmas’, etc. Alternative terms for connotative meaning include AFFECTIVE and EMOTIVE.