@fast,
fast;115772 wrote:lexical..........
What do you "mean" by "lexical definition"?
lexical definition - The meaning of a word in actual usage by speakers of a certain language. (Wiktionary)
The
lexical definition of a term, also known as the dictionary definition, is the meaning of the term in common usage. As its other name implies, this is the sort of definition one is likely to find in the dictionary. A lexical definition is usually the type expected from a request for definition, and it is generally expected that such a definition will be stated as simply as possible in order to convey information to the widest audience. (Wikipedia)
A
lexical definition (sometimes also called a reportive definition) is any definition which explains how a word is
actually used. (About.com)
Lexical definition specifies the meaning of an expression by stating it in terms of other expressions whose meaning is assumed to be known (e.g., a ewe is a female sheep). (Encyclopedia Britannica Online)
Lexical definition - the meaning of a word in actual usage by speakers of a certain language (AllWords.com)
Lexical definition - the meaning of a word in common usage by speakers of the language; dictionary definition (Dictionary.com)
lexical definition - A faithful report of the way in which a term is used within a particular language-community. (A Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names)
See also:
"
Definition and Meaning," by Garth Kemerling:
A
lexical definition simply reports the way in which a term is already used within a language community. The goal here is to inform someone else of the accepted meaning of the term, so the definition is more or less correct depending upon the accuracy with which it captures that usage.
"
Lexical Definition," In:
Definition, by Richard Robinston. (Oxford University Press, 1954), Chapter III, pp. 34-58:
Lexical definition is that sort of word-thing definition in which we are explaining the actual way in which some actual word has been used by some actual persons.
And I found:
"
Lexical definition of definition":
Definition has a number of meanings, including:
- A statement of the meaning of a word, phrase, concept, or sometimes a thing, such as a natural kind.
- The quality of a graphic or auditory reproduction.
- In Roman Catholicism, a "dogmatic
definition" by a pope or an ecumenical council. Catholics say, for example, that the pope "defined that the Virgin Mary was conceived innocent of original sin".
- In computer science, a
definition consists of a declaration and, possibly, an initializer. Usually, the definition and declaration are the same thing.
Also, there's probably:
A lexical definition of "meaning"
A lexical meaning of "definition"
A lexical meaning of "meaning"
And finally, from the
Definition Handout of the Writing Lab of the University of West Florida:
"A definition says what something is and what it is not."
---------- Post added 12-31-2009 at 01:00 AM ----------
Deckard;115755 wrote:Let's start with circular definition. For example here's one: The definition of a word is the meaning of the word.
What do you mean by circular definition?
A
circular definition is one that assumes a prior understanding of the term being defined.
A circular definition is a description of the meaning of a lexeme that is constructed using one or more synonymous lexemes that are all defined in terms of each other.
A
circular definition defines an expression in terms of itself.
Or how about a
circular definition of "
circular definition":
Circular definition - a
definition in which the definiendum (the expression being defined) or a variant of it appears in the definiens (the expression that defines it)
"A
rose is a
rose is a
rose." (Gertruce Stein)
I think I'll stop now. I'm getting dizzy!
:flowers:
