meaningn.²

Brit.

/ˈmiːnɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈminɪŋ/

Forms: Middle English meenyng, Middle English menaynge (probably transmission error), Middle English meneyng, Middle English mennyng, Middle English menying, Middle English–1500s meanyng, Middle English–1500s meanynge, Middle English–1500s mening, Middle English–1500s meninge, Middle English–1500s menyng, Middle English–1500s menynge, 1500s meening, 1500s–1600s meaninge, 1500s– meaning, 1600s meaneinge, 1800s– maning (English regional), 1800s– meeanin (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 meanyng, pre-1700 meanynge, pre-1700 meenyng, pre-1700 meining, pre-1700 meneng, pre-1700 mening, pre-1700 mennyng, pre-1700 menying, pre-1700 menyng, pre-1700 menynge, pre-1700 minien, pre-1700 mining, pre-1700 1700s– meaning, 1800s maenin; also Irish English 1700s– maning, 1800s– meanen (northern).

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: mean v.¹, -ing suffix¹.

Etymology: < mean v.¹ + -ing suffix¹. Compare Middle Dutch mēninge, meininge (Dutch mening), Middle Low German mēninge, meininge, Old High German meinunga (Middle High German meinunge, German Meinung).

1. The significance, purpose, underlying truth, etc., of something.

a. That which is indicated or expressed by a (supposed) symbol or symbolic action; spec. a message, warning, idea, etc., supposed to be symbolized by a dream, vision, omen, etc. †in meaning that: as a sign or token that (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > interpretation of dreams > [noun] > significance of a dream

swepea1325

wielda1325

meaningc1384

sense1584

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) Dan. ii. 5 No bot ȝe shuln shewe to me the sweuen, and the coniecturyng, or menyng, therof.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. 301 Ac god sent hem fode bi foules and by no fierse bestes, In menynge [c1400 C text xviii. 33 In tokenynge] þat meke þinge mylde þinge shulde fede.

1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus Famous Hyst. i. f. 11 It is needful then y^t..I lay open vnto you the true meaning and sence of the dreame.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxvii. 178 If he haue no such being, neither can the Sacrament haue any such meaning as wee all confesse it hath.

1611 Bible (King James) Dan. viii. 15 When I..had seene the vision, and sought for the meaning .

a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. ii. 457 What is the meaning that this transparent Lady [sc. Hope] holds up her train in her left hand? for I find your women on Medals do nothing without a meaning.

1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry I. vii. i. 135 What was the meaning of that bird, or what bird it was, that the gentleman had at his breast?

1885 E. Clodd Myths & Dreams i. iv. 66 The Greeks had sought out the meaning of their myths.

1904 H. Adams Mont-Saint-Michel & Chartres vi. 90 The symbol is so graceful that one is quite eager to know its meaning.

1913 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Interpretation of Dreams ii. 102 If the method of dream interpretation here indicated is followed, it will be found that the dream really has meaning.

1994 Jrnl. Asian Stud. 53 232 Myōe was obsessed with discovering the meaning of his dreams, especially the bad ones.

b. Significance, import; implication. with meaning: with emphasis; in a manner intended to convey a particular implication. Cf. no-meaning n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > [noun]

signifiancec1275

wita1340

understanding1340

significancea1400

interpretationc1400

sentence1402

signification?a1425

comprehensec1470

knowledging1532

meaning1600

conceit1607

significancy1618

signality1646

significativeness1652

valor1676

amount1678

significature1822

1600 S. Nicholson Acolastus his After-witte sig. F4^v She was too young to leuell at my harmes, Or picke a meaning from my dum deuotion.

1689 R. Milward Selden's Table-talk 42 The Pope in sending Rellicks to Princes, does as Wenches do by their Wassels at New-years-tide, they present you with a Cup, and you must drink of a slabby stuff; but the meaning is, you must give them Moneys.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. x. 250 He that hath Names without Ideas, wants meaning in his Words.

1745 M. Akenside Friendship & Love 7 I look for Spirit in her Eyes, And Meaning in her Air.

a1800 W. Cowper Ode to Apollo i Those luckless brains That..Indite much metre with much pains, And little or no meaning.

1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. i. 50 As he passed the young lord he cast on him a look so full of meaning, that [etc.].

1900 Outrageous Fortune vii. 73 ‘You'll find that will not be so easy,’ Sister Keziah replied, with meaning.

1964 J. Rule Desert of Heart ix. 246 It makes you begin to question the meaning of everything you believe.

1994 S. Butula Perfection of Morning i. 7 The color and feel of an orange in my hand, the can of milk on the table were suddenly freighted with meaning beyond the immediate circumstances.

c. Of an action, condition, etc.: signification; intention; cause, purpose; motive, justification. Usually in interrogative contexts, as a rhetorical question in protest at an action or behaviour (esp. in what is the meaning of ——?). Cf. mean v.¹ 6b.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object

willeOE

errand?c1225

purposec1300

endc1305

emprisec1330

intentc1340

use1340

conclusionc1374

studya1382

pointc1385

causec1386

gamea1393

term?c1400

businessc1405

finec1405

intentionc1410

object?a1425

obtent?a1475

drift1526

intend1526

respect1528

flight1530

finality?1541

stop1551

scope1559

butt?1571

bent1579

aiming point1587

pursuitc1592

aim1595

devotion1597

meaning1605

maina1610

attempt1610

design1615

purport1616

terminusa1617

intendment1635

pretence1649

ettle1790

big (also great) idea1846

objective1878

objective1882

the name of the game1910

the object of the exercise1958

thrust1968

1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. B3^v King. What is the meaning of this lowd report. Alex. An embas. my Lord is new ariued from spaine.

1687 T. Brown Saints in Uproar in Wks. (1707) I. 109 Why, how now, Bully Royster! What's the meaning of this Outrage in the Face of Justice?

1706 S. Centlivre Basset-table iv. 51 Fac't agen;—what's the meaning of this Ill-luck to Night?

1830 E. Bulwer-Lytton in Select. from Corr. M. Napier (1879) 83 What is the meaning of this Bible mania among the poetlings?

1877 J. A. Froude Short Stud. (1883) IV. i. iii. 29 What could be the meaning of so sudden and so startling a transformation?

1931 V. L. Whitechurch in Floating Admiral i. 29 What's the meaning of this early morning deputation?

1978 F. Muir in F. Muir & D. Norden Take my Word for It 92 ‘What’, she muttered between clenched teeth, ‘is the meaning of this?’

d. Something which gives one a sense of purpose, value, etc., esp. of a metaphysical or spiritual kind; the (perceived) purpose of existence or of a person's life. Frequently in the meaning of life.

ΚΠ

1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. ix, in Fraser's Mag. Apr. 447/2 Our Life is compassed round with Necessity; yet is the meaning of Life itself no other than Freedom.

1897 J. Conrad Nigger of ‘Narcissus’ v. 96 We understood the subtlety of his fear..as though we had been over-civilized, and rotten, and without any knowledge of the meaning of life.

1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out xxiii. 382 I, on the other hand, had the whole meaning of life revealed to me in a flash.

1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 24 So whatever meaning there is in my life, being concentrated in my poetry, should unfold itself if I follow up the clues which the poetry offers.

1993 Time 31 May 22/3 America, she said, suffers from a ‘sleeping sickness of the soul’,..that we lack, at some core level, meaning in our individual lives and meaning collectively.

2. The sense or signification of a word, sentence, etc.

a. Of language, a sentence, word, text, etc.: signification, sense. By extension: the thing, person, etc., for which a word or expression stands; the denotation or referent of a word or expression. Also: the signification intended to be understood by a statement, law, etc., as opposed to the literal sense of the words; cf. spirit n. 18c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > [noun]

to owe a wolda1325

meaninga1387

significationa1398

understanding1433

pretensionc1443

intellect?a1475

tendment1519

sense1530

reciprocation1604

sensing1613

denotation1614

apprehension1615

explicitness1630

sounda1631

notion1646

bodementa1657

means1656

force1709

notation1829

connotation1865

content1875

territory1875

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > implied meaning > [noun]

meaninga1387

signifiantc1415

implication1581

impliance1677

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 103 (MED) Þis transmygracioun..durede..by sextene generaciouns; Noþeles Matheu, by cause of som priue menynge [L. mysterii], sette fourtene generaciouns.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 611 Þe menyng ys: Alle yn þe þe wykednes ys.

1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 85 If we taken the gospel aftir the menynge.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xij^v If this be the meaning of the lawe, then can no more the Spaniarde be chosen, then the Frencheman.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 15 Termes, so fixed, as whereas the Meaning ought to gouerne the Terme, the Terme in effect gouerneth the Meaning.

1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 513 That I [sc. Satan] might learn In what degree or meaning thou art call'd The Son of God, which bears no single sence.

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. iii. 58 Difficulties may be raised about the Meaning, as well as the Truth, of the Assertion.

1787 W. Jones in Asiatick Researches (1791) 2 8 I can offer so little accurate information concerning the Sabian faith, or even the meaning of the word, that I dare not yet speak on the subject with confidence.

1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic (ed. 3) II. iv. iv. §6. 225 It may be good to alter the meaning of a word, but it is bad to let any part of the meaning drop.

1876 W. S. Jevons Logic 23 The confusion which arises between the different meanings of the same word.

1940 B. Russell Inq. into Meaning & Truth i. 25 These are what I call ‘object-words’... Their meaning is learnt (or can be learnt) by confrontation with objects which are what they mean, or instances of what they mean.

1987 M. Collins Angel iv. 67 Every comment or question..began to hold in her eyes some hidden meaning.

†b. to be to meaning: to signify, to be intended to mean. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 69 (MED) Þe firste is Phison, and is to menynge ful wexynge of plente [L. qui interpretatur inundatio]..Gangus is to menynge felawschippe..Þe fourþe is Euphrates, þat is to menynge [L. quod sonat], fructuous.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 17 Raphael is to menynge þe medicine of god [L. medicina dei].

?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 48 That is to menying that [Fr. c'est a entendre que] ye shulde loue and doute youre husbonde.

a1456 (a1402) J. Trevisa tr. Gospel of Nicodemus (BL Add.) f. 95^v (MED) I axed of an hebrewe..what þe children cryed in þe speche of hebrewe, and he tolde me what hit was to meenyng.

c. With possessive: that which a speaker or writer intends to express, imply, or insinuate; the intended sense or underlying point of a person's words.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun]

sentence?c1225

intent1303

tenora1387

intendment1390

strengthc1390

porta1393

meaningc1395

process1395

continencea1398

purposec1400

substance1415

purport1422

matterc1450

storyc1450

containing1477

contenu1477

retinue1484

fecka1500

content1513

drift1526

intention1532

vein1543

importing1548

scope1549

importance1552

course1553

force1555

sense?1556

file1560

intelliment?1562

proporta1578

preport1583

import1588

importment1602

carriage1604

morala1616

significancy1641

amount1678

purview1688

sentiment1713

capacity1720

spirit1742

message1828

thrust1968

messaging1977

c1395 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 151 Ther is no fowel..That she ne shal wel vnderstonde his steuene And knowe his menyng openly and pleyn And answere hym in his langage ageyn.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 15925 Of his menyng, I wote þe way, bot his faire spech I can not say.

?1531 J. Frith Disput. Purgatorye i. sig. b3^v I wyll bryflye declare the meaninge of the apostle.

1621 T. W. in tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard sig. Aiv^v I hope I haue hit of his meaning, though I vary from his wordes.

1731–8 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. (1963) 147 I can tell your Meaning, by your Mumping.

1841 J. H. Newman Lett. & Corr. (1891) II. 336 The Articles are to be interpreted, not according to the meaning of the writers, but..according to the sense of the Catholic Church.

1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preaching (ed. 3) vi. 161 You will be good enough not to misunderstand my meaning.

1937 R. K. Narayan Bachelor of Arts ix. 133 Will you kindly make your meaning clearer?

1993 M. Angelou Wouldn't take Nothing for my Journey Now 40 I don't see how you could misread my meaning. You must be paranoid.

d. Originally Law. within the meaning of the act: within the specific terms of any statute; (more generally) within the bounds of the law; also in extended use.

ΚΠ

1766 Act 6 Geo. III c. 48 All Oak, Beech, Chestnut..and Birch Trees, shall be deemed and taken to be Timber Trees within the true Meaning..of this Act.

1789 Act 29 Geo. III c. 68 §155 All returns of Spanish shall be deemed..to be returns of tobacco within the meaning of this Act.

1848 Commerc. Rev. South & West Oct.–Nov. 261 If the circulation is $90,000, and the specie reserved is reduced to $10,800, the bank has only to pay out its notes for a New-York draft of $5,000, that draft being gold and silver coin within the meaning of the act.

1892 Catholic World May 228 Mr. Forster's bill proposed to render eviction for non-payment of rent a disturbance within the meaning of the act of 1870, which would entitle the evicted tenants to compensation.

1939 N. Marsh Overture to Death xxiii. 268 She's one of these society ladies who, if they were born in a lower walk of life, would set up for themselves in a rather exclusive way, but well within the meaning of the act.

1987 Daily Tel. 10 Aug. 13/6 Unsorted bundles of cheques and paying-in slips were not ‘other records’ within the meaning of the Act.

1988 C. Hitchens Not knowing Half of It in G. Wolff Best Amer. Essays (1989) 150 The horridly warm relations between the Buenos Aires junta and the Soviet Union..did not count, in the new Kulturkampf, as a tyranny within the meaning of the act.

3. (A person's) motive, intention, or purpose. Usually in singular. Now archaic. †upon a meaning: with the intention (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose

willeOE

highOE

thoughtOE

intent?c1225

achesounc1230

attenta1250

couragec1320

devicec1320

minda1325

studya1382

understanding1382

suggestionc1390

meaninga1393

i-minda1400

minta1400

tent1399

castc1400

ettlingc1400

affecta1425

advicec1425

intention1430

purposec1430

proposea1450

intendment1450

supposing?c1450

pretensionc1456

intellectionc1460

zeal1492

hest?a1513

minting?a1513

institute?1520

intendingc1525

mindfulness1530

cogitationa1538

fordrift1549

forecast1549

designing1566

tention1587

levela1591

intendiment1595

design1597

suppose1597

aim1598

regarda1616

idea1617

contemplationa1631

speculation1631

way of thinking1650

designation1658

tend1663

would1753

predetermination1764

will to art1920

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 4837 Whan Collatin hath herd hire telle The menynge of hire trewe herte.

c1430 (c1395) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 464 It was myn entente To forthere trouthe..this was myn menynge.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 2315 (MED) He knewe him and his menynge.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. i. 10 Be ye perfecte in one mynde, and one meanynge.

1585 A. Poulet Let. to Walsingham 27 Apr. in Letter-bks. (1874) (modernized text) 11 This cloth of Estate was set up at the first coming hither of this Queen, upon a meaning that she should dine and sup ordinarily in that chamber.

1592 Greenes Groats-worth of Witte sig. C3 Lucanio..had a good meaninge to vtter his minde.

a1593 C. Marlowe Jew of Malta (1633) iv. ii Yet, if he knew our meanings, could he scape?

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear ii. 161 I am no honest man if there bee any good meaning towards you.

1633 J. Ford Broken Heart iv. i. sig. G2^v A man of single meaning.

1781 W. Cowper Epist. to Lady Austen 98 A..visit..made almost without a meaning, Produced a friendship.

1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion iv. 192 You..Adore, and worship, when you know it not; Pious beyond the intention of your thought; Devout above the meaning of your will.

1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iii. 57 Since we learnt our meaning here, To uplift the woman's fall'n divinity.

1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxxiii. 48 Sure, sure, if stedfast meaning, If single thought could save, The world might end to-morrow, You should not see the grave.

†4.

a. Knowledge, understanding. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > [noun]

i-witnessc888

knowledging?c1225

wittinga1300

beknowing1340

sciencec1350

bekenningc1380

knowinga1398

knowledgea1398

meaninga1398

cunningshipa1400

feela1400

understanda1400

cognizancec1400

kenningc1400

witc1400

recognizancec1436

cognition1447

recognitionc1450

cognoscencec1540

conscience1570

comprehension1597

comprehense1604

cognizant1634

sciency1642

scibility1677

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 146^v Dyuynours meneþ þe rauen haþ a maner vertue of menynge and bodynge of dyuynacioun.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 563 (MED) Þe saule has..Menyng, and þat of thinges thre: þat is and was and ay sal be.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. 138 (MED) Ich haue no kynde knowyng..ȝe mote kenne me bettere By wat wey hit wexith and wonder out of my menyng.

b. An opinion, belief. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > [noun] > a view, notion, opinion > on a particular point

sentencec1386

opiniona1393

meaninga1398

belief1528

resentiment1606

value1637

resentment1675

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 38 And somme membres..stondiþ in here oune vertue, by þe menynge of phisiciens [L. secundum opinionem medicorum].

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 7017 (MED) For to folis longeth kyndely, Withoute a-vis to speke folily, Vndiscretly his menyng to fulfille, Where a wysman schal heryn & be stylle.

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 332 (MED) The rehercid firste premisse myȝte not be trewe but if he schulde meene..that Crist..wolde haue ordeyned bi him silf..al that is nedeful to his clergie..But this meenyng is vntrewe.

a1450 (a1396) W. Hilton Eight Chapters on Perfection 29 (MED) And so vndir sikirnes of þat meenyng and of þat fals wenyng, þei coueiten ech of hem to handele and fele oþer and kisse oþer.

†5. Remembrance (chiefly in to have (also make) meaning of (also on)). Also: a commemoration, a memorial. Cf. mean v.¹ 12. Obsolete.Cf. minning n., often occurring in Middle English manuscripts as a variant reading for this word.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > [noun] > commenting or mentioning

mentionc1300

remembrancea1393

meaninga1400

mention-making1534

mentioning1565

commemoration1576

commenting1597

voicinga1626

memoration1627

citation1640

naming1677

observing1719

commentation1833

the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > [noun]

i-mindOE

mindc1300

commemorationc1384

meaninga1400

memorial?1471

recordance1490

mind-making1496

mindfulness1530

memorizing1600

recordancy1654

memorialization1862

the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > commemorate [verb (intransitive)]

to make memory ofa1325

to have (also make) meaning of (also on)a1400

to make meaninga1400

monea1400

jubilee1887

the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > [noun] > memorial

minginga1225

memory?c1225

mindc1300

memoriala1382

memoranda1400

memorativec1487

remembrativea1500

meaning1503

monument1531

commemorative1636

memoira1711

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 3196 (MED) Þi dede in mening [a1400 Vesp. minnyng] sal last ay.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 24748 Quen i ma mening o þat mild..Þat giues me lust of hire to rede.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 5208 (MED) Lorde, haue on me menyng!

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 8320 (MED) When þou has of þi syns meneyng.

c1440 (a1400) Awntyrs Arthure (Thornton) 236 (MED) Hertly one hande, I hete the to halde With a melyone of messes to make thy menynge [v.r. mynnyng].

1503 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 72 Atour he sal nocht ring Laurence at the saule messe nor menyngis, bot for the nobill and honorabill personis of the town.

1539 Haddington Burgh Rec. in Trans. E. Lothian Antiquarian & Field Naturalists' Soc. (1958) 7 3 Anent the ringing of the bells in menyng.

†6. Mention. Only in to make meaning (often in negative constructions). Cf. mean v.¹ 10. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > speak [verb (intransitive)] > speak of or mention

sayOE

showa1200

monec1225

roundc1275

specifya1300

sermon1303

nevenc1330

readc1330

reckonc1390

to make meaninga1400

rehearsec1405

express1430

remember1531

mention1559

the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > commemorate [verb (intransitive)]

to make memory ofa1325

to have (also make) meaning of (also on)a1400

to make meaninga1400

monea1400

jubilee1887

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 8518 Childre..Of whiche I make no menyng here.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 25 Noiþer Gildas no Bede..Writes..of no kyng Athelwold..ne Hanelok..Whilk tyme þe were kynges Þei mak no menyng.

c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 3795 The boke of Sanges makes of Marie menyng.

c1480 (a1400) Prol. Evangelists 14 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 236 Vthire twa, of quhame I wel here menyng ma.

Compounds

C1. Chiefly in Linguistics and Philosophy (in sense 2a).

meaning analysis n.

ΚΠ

1936 L. Wirth & E. A. Shils tr. K. Mannheim Ideol. & Utopia i. 46 There are..vast possibilities of precision in the combination of meaning-analysis and sociological situational diagnosis.

1966 C. G. Hempel Philos. Nat. Sci. viii. 103 The characterization of these substances by their molecular structure is arrived at, not by meaning analysis, but by chemical analysis.

meaning area n.

ΚΠ

1958 C. Rabin in Aspects of Transl. vii. 124 The object in question has to be assigned either to the meaning-area of watch or to that of clock.

1970 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 35 298/1 The emphasis here is on the formal patterning of the symbolically represented meaning areas of the group, and such words as interlocking, coherent, unified etc. will be used interchangeably.

meaning-change n.

ΚΠ

1954 F. G. Cassidy Robertson's Devel. Mod. Eng. (ed. 2) ix. 232 The various types of meaning-change.

1994 Harvard Jrnl. Asiatic Stud. 54 559 A unified dialectic guaranteed by the currency of a universal language (as opposed to language subject to the ‘meaning-change’ hypothesis).

meaning component n.

ΚΠ

1937 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 67 122 The two principles, meaning-component and factor of psycho-physical appeal, appear intertwined.

1992 Internat. Rev. Appl. Ling. in Lang. Teaching 179 This applies not only to syntax but also to semantics, where words are analysed into meaning components, and to speech act theory.

meaning-content n.

ΚΠ

1906 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 3 347 A's very intention, meaning-act and meaning-content combined, is not really a peculiarity of the part of my system I call A.

1993 Nous 27 102 The meaning-content of their thoughts or..in Reinachian terms, the ‘Satz (im logischen Sinne), i.e. the meaning of a complete declarative statement’.

meaning-making n.

ΚΠ

1947 O. Barfield in C. S. Lewis Ess. presented to C. Williams 124 There was an attempt at deliberate and fully conscious meaning-making.

1978 Dædalus Fall 111 We shall pause to investigate, to see whether new modes of meaning-making are issuing from the matrix of nineteenth-century culture.

meaning-postulate n.

ΚΠ

1952 Jrnl. Symbolic Logic 17 283 There is no way of finding the meaning-postulates of an ordinary language, because no ordinary language is a uniquely defined language.

1986 W. Weaver tr. U. Eco Trav. in Hyper Reality iii. 131 Sometimes, when it comes to the definition of premises, the meaning-postulates that we want to accept, infinite conflicts can develop.

meaning potential n.

ΚΠ

1954 Philos. Rev. 63 391 The exclusive and sophisticated use [of language] called ‘literal’..is the meaning-potential which..does come under the control of ‘logic’ in the special sense of the scientific tradition in philosophy.

1977 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 1976 21 ii. 198 Important questions remain about Halliday's model, particularly as regards the precise relationship between meaning potential and its realization at the level of form.

meaning-relation n.

ΚΠ

1907 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 4 200 The meaning relation stands on the same level as the physical, not being merely suggested, but part of the facts asserted.

1992 Mind 101 185 No convention can be taught without some presupposed concept of the meaning-relation and a sign system.

meaning-relationship n.

ΚΠ

1923 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 38 103 ‘To understand’ means significant comprehension..of the meaning or meaning-relationships to be scientifically constructed for the pure type (ideal type) of a frequent phenomenon.

1990 Philos. Q. 40 359 We need to know what the meaning-relationship is, the metaphysical status of abstract properties.

meaning-unit n.

ΚΠ

1938 I. Goldberg Wonder of Words xvi. 323 The smallest meaning-unit of a word is called a semanteme.

1962 W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use vii. 162 What we call the ‘same word’ is not a single meaning-unit.

meaning-bearing adj.

ΚΠ

1953 N. Chomsky in Jrnl. Symbolic Logic 18 244 The linguist's morphemes are classes of conforming minimal meaning-bearing units, e.g., ‘boy’, ‘think’, ‘of’, ‘ing’, the plural ‘s’, etc.

1992 Mind 101 184 That key concept of Indian Grammarians: the meaning-bearing soul of an utterance..called ‘sphota’ in Sanskrit.

meaning-carrying adj.

ΚΠ

1965 H. A. Gleason Ling. & Eng. Gram. 192 We might have had the meaning-carrying verb washed.

1987 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 92 1110 Different novels vary with respect to their multivocality, their ability to impress, their power. It is essential for social scientists to recognize this variable meaning-carrying capacity.

meaning-free adj.

ΚΠ

1949 Mind 58 420 This work, Wirklichkeit und Sinn..gives its two basic theses in the subtitles..the first, ‘The objective realisation of meaning in a meaning-free reality’.

1991 Nous 25 622 Regarding our purely semantic..desideratum of a meaning-free account..a proper name..doesn't connote forbidden semantic values such as sinn or meaning.

C2.

meaning-text model n. Linguistics a linguistic theory conceived as a general theory of all human language, first proposed by the Russians A. K. Zholkovsky and I. A. Mel'cuk in 1965, and based on the postulate that every speech event presupposes three main components (form, content, and correspondence between an infinite set of meanings and an infinite set of texts).

ΚΠ

1970 I. A. Mel'cuk in Linguistics 57 12 We would suggest as the first and principal goal of present-day semantics the construction of a meaning-text model of language.

1991 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 36 387 The Meaning-Text model of language, originating in the Soviet Union in the 60s, and developed since in North America..has produced studies in Dependency Syntax..and Explanatory-Combinatorial Dictionaries of Russian and French.

meaning-text theory n. Linguistics = meaning-text model n.

ΚΠ

1981 I. A. Mel'cuk in Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 10 44 The idea of defining the structures in the MTM [i.e. meaning-text model] in terms of sets of rules representing well-formedness conditions was introduced into the meaning-text theory by L. N. Iordanskaja.

1990 Word 41 223 Dependency Syntax is a generally well-done and convincing presentation of one brand of dependency analysis, namely the Meaning-Text theory (MTT).

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	meaning
释义	† meaningn.¹ Forms: Middle English meenynge, Middle English meneyng, Middle English mening, Middle English meninge, Middle English menyng, Middle English menynge; Scottish pre-1700 meaning, pre-1700 meining, pre-1700 mening, pre-1700 menyng. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: mean v.², -ing suffix¹. Etymology: < mean v.² + -ing suffix¹. Obsolete. The action of mean v.²; moaning, lamentation. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > [noun] carea1000 sorrowingOE meaninga1200 moan?c1225 mourning?c1225 plaint?c1225 ruthc1225 weimerc1230 mean?c1250 sorrow?c1250 dolec1290 plainingc1300 woec1300 dolourc1320 mourna1350 waymentingc1350 penancec1380 complaintc1384 lamentationc1384 complainingc1385 moaninga1400 waiminga1400 waymenta1400 waymentationc1400 dillc1420 merourec1429 plainc1475 regratec1480 complainc1485 regretc1500 lamenting1513 doleance1524 deploration1533 deplorement1593 condolement1602 regreeting1606 imploration1607 pother1638 dolinga1668 moanification1827 dolence1861 a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 63 (MED) On fuwuer wise us bihoueð turnen to him: on heorte, on festene, on wope, on meninge. c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) 4803 (MED) Biside him he herd a mening, Also it were a woman schricheing. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 734 Madennys murnyt with gret menyng amang. 1572 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxx. 27 Dowglas..& gude Westiraw..with lytill meaning, fra the men be past. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online September 2021). meaningn.² Brit. /ˈmiːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈminɪŋ/ Forms: Middle English meenyng, Middle English menaynge (probably transmission error), Middle English meneyng, Middle English mennyng, Middle English menying, Middle English–1500s meanyng, Middle English–1500s meanynge, Middle English–1500s mening, Middle English–1500s meninge, Middle English–1500s menyng, Middle English–1500s menynge, 1500s meening, 1500s–1600s meaninge, 1500s– meaning, 1600s meaneinge, 1800s– maning (English regional), 1800s– meeanin (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 meanyng, pre-1700 meanynge, pre-1700 meenyng, pre-1700 meining, pre-1700 meneng, pre-1700 mening, pre-1700 mennyng, pre-1700 menying, pre-1700 menyng, pre-1700 menynge, pre-1700 minien, pre-1700 mining, pre-1700 1700s– meaning, 1800s maenin; also Irish English 1700s– maning, 1800s– meanen (northern). Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: mean v.¹, -ing suffix¹. Etymology: < mean v.¹ + -ing suffix¹. Compare Middle Dutch mēninge, meininge (Dutch mening), Middle Low German mēninge, meininge, Old High German meinunga (Middle High German meinunge, German Meinung). 1. The significance, purpose, underlying truth, etc., of something. a. That which is indicated or expressed by a (supposed) symbol or symbolic action; spec. a message, warning, idea, etc., supposed to be symbolized by a dream, vision, omen, etc. †in meaning that: as a sign or token that (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > interpretation of dreams > [noun] > significance of a dream swepea1325 wielda1325 meaningc1384 sense1584 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) Dan. ii. 5 No bot ȝe shuln shewe to me the sweuen, and the coniecturyng, or menyng, therof. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. 301 Ac god sent hem fode bi foules and by no fierse bestes, In menynge [c1400 C text xviii. 33 In tokenynge] þat meke þinge mylde þinge shulde fede. 1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus Famous Hyst. i. f. 11 It is needful then y^t..I lay open vnto you the true meaning and sence of the dreame. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxvii. 178 If he haue no such being, neither can the Sacrament haue any such meaning as wee all confesse it hath. 1611 Bible (King James) Dan. viii. 15 When I..had seene the vision, and sought for the meaning . View more context for this quotation a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. ii. 457 What is the meaning that this transparent Lady [sc. Hope] holds up her train in her left hand? for I find your women on Medals do nothing without a meaning. 1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry I. vii. i. 135 What was the meaning of that bird, or what bird it was, that the gentleman had at his breast? 1885 E. Clodd Myths & Dreams i. iv. 66 The Greeks had sought out the meaning of their myths. 1904 H. Adams Mont-Saint-Michel & Chartres vi. 90 The symbol is so graceful that one is quite eager to know its meaning. 1913 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Interpretation of Dreams ii. 102 If the method of dream interpretation here indicated is followed, it will be found that the dream really has meaning. 1994 Jrnl. Asian Stud. 53 232 Myōe was obsessed with discovering the meaning of his dreams, especially the bad ones. b. Significance, import; implication. with meaning: with emphasis; in a manner intended to convey a particular implication. Cf. no-meaning n. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > [noun] signifiancec1275 wita1340 understanding1340 significancea1400 interpretationc1400 sentence1402 signification?a1425 comprehensec1470 knowledging1532 meaning1600 conceit1607 significancy1618 signality1646 significativeness1652 valor1676 amount1678 significature1822 1600 S. Nicholson Acolastus his After-witte sig. F4^v She was too young to leuell at my harmes, Or picke a meaning from my dum deuotion. 1689 R. Milward Selden's Table-talk 42 The Pope in sending Rellicks to Princes, does as Wenches do by their Wassels at New-years-tide, they present you with a Cup, and you must drink of a slabby stuff; but the meaning is, you must give them Moneys. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. x. 250 He that hath Names without Ideas, wants meaning in his Words. 1745 M. Akenside Friendship & Love 7 I look for Spirit in her Eyes, And Meaning in her Air. a1800 W. Cowper Ode to Apollo i Those luckless brains That..Indite much metre with much pains, And little or no meaning. 1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. i. 50 As he passed the young lord he cast on him a look so full of meaning, that [etc.]. 1900 Outrageous Fortune vii. 73 ‘You'll find that will not be so easy,’ Sister Keziah replied, with meaning. 1964 J. Rule Desert of Heart ix. 246 It makes you begin to question the meaning of everything you believe. 1994 S. Butula Perfection of Morning i. 7 The color and feel of an orange in my hand, the can of milk on the table were suddenly freighted with meaning beyond the immediate circumstances. c. Of an action, condition, etc.: signification; intention; cause, purpose; motive, justification. Usually in interrogative contexts, as a rhetorical question in protest at an action or behaviour (esp. in what is the meaning of ——?). Cf. mean v.¹ 6b. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object willeOE errand?c1225 purposec1300 endc1305 emprisec1330 intentc1340 use1340 conclusionc1374 studya1382 pointc1385 causec1386 gamea1393 term?c1400 businessc1405 finec1405 intentionc1410 object?a1425 obtent?a1475 drift1526 intend1526 respect1528 flight1530 finality?1541 stop1551 scope1559 butt?1571 bent1579 aiming point1587 pursuitc1592 aim1595 devotion1597 meaning1605 maina1610 attempt1610 design1615 purport1616 terminusa1617 intendment1635 pretence1649 ettle1790 big (also great) idea1846 objective1878 objective1882 the name of the game1910 the object of the exercise1958 thrust1968 1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. B3^v King. What is the meaning of this lowd report. Alex. An embas. my Lord is new ariued from spaine. 1687 T. Brown Saints in Uproar in Wks. (1707) I. 109 Why, how now, Bully Royster! What's the meaning of this Outrage in the Face of Justice? 1706 S. Centlivre Basset-table iv. 51 Fac't agen;—what's the meaning of this Ill-luck to Night? 1830 E. Bulwer-Lytton in Select. from Corr. M. Napier (1879) 83 What is the meaning of this Bible mania among the poetlings? 1877 J. A. Froude Short Stud. (1883) IV. i. iii. 29 What could be the meaning of so sudden and so startling a transformation? 1931 V. L. Whitechurch in Floating Admiral i. 29 What's the meaning of this early morning deputation? 1978 F. Muir in F. Muir & D. Norden Take my Word for It 92 ‘What’, she muttered between clenched teeth, ‘is the meaning of this?’ d. Something which gives one a sense of purpose, value, etc., esp. of a metaphysical or spiritual kind; the (perceived) purpose of existence or of a person's life. Frequently in the meaning of life. ΚΠ 1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. ix, in Fraser's Mag. Apr. 447/2 Our Life is compassed round with Necessity; yet is the meaning of Life itself no other than Freedom. 1897 J. Conrad Nigger of ‘Narcissus’ v. 96 We understood the subtlety of his fear..as though we had been over-civilized, and rotten, and without any knowledge of the meaning of life. 1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out xxiii. 382 I, on the other hand, had the whole meaning of life revealed to me in a flash. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 24 So whatever meaning there is in my life, being concentrated in my poetry, should unfold itself if I follow up the clues which the poetry offers. 1993 Time 31 May 22/3 America, she said, suffers from a ‘sleeping sickness of the soul’,..that we lack, at some core level, meaning in our individual lives and meaning collectively. 2. The sense or signification of a word, sentence, etc. a. Of language, a sentence, word, text, etc.: signification, sense. By extension: the thing, person, etc., for which a word or expression stands; the denotation or referent of a word or expression. Also: the signification intended to be understood by a statement, law, etc., as opposed to the literal sense of the words; cf. spirit n. 18c. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > [noun] to owe a wolda1325 meaninga1387 significationa1398 understanding1433 pretensionc1443 intellect?a1475 tendment1519 sense1530 reciprocation1604 sensing1613 denotation1614 apprehension1615 explicitness1630 sounda1631 notion1646 bodementa1657 means1656 force1709 notation1829 connotation1865 content1875 territory1875 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > implied meaning > [noun] meaninga1387 signifiantc1415 implication1581 impliance1677 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 103 (MED) Þis transmygracioun..durede..by sextene generaciouns; Noþeles Matheu, by cause of som priue menynge [L. mysterii], sette fourtene generaciouns. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 611 Þe menyng ys: Alle yn þe þe wykednes ys. 1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 85 If we taken the gospel aftir the menynge. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xij^v If this be the meaning of the lawe, then can no more the Spaniarde be chosen, then the Frencheman. 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 15 Termes, so fixed, as whereas the Meaning ought to gouerne the Terme, the Terme in effect gouerneth the Meaning. 1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 513 That I [sc. Satan] might learn In what degree or meaning thou art call'd The Son of God, which bears no single sence. View more context for this quotation 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. iii. 58 Difficulties may be raised about the Meaning, as well as the Truth, of the Assertion. 1787 W. Jones in Asiatick Researches (1791) 2 8 I can offer so little accurate information concerning the Sabian faith, or even the meaning of the word, that I dare not yet speak on the subject with confidence. 1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic (ed. 3) II. iv. iv. §6. 225 It may be good to alter the meaning of a word, but it is bad to let any part of the meaning drop. 1876 W. S. Jevons Logic 23 The confusion which arises between the different meanings of the same word. 1940 B. Russell Inq. into Meaning & Truth i. 25 These are what I call ‘object-words’... Their meaning is learnt (or can be learnt) by confrontation with objects which are what they mean, or instances of what they mean. 1987 M. Collins Angel iv. 67 Every comment or question..began to hold in her eyes some hidden meaning. †b. to be to meaning: to signify, to be intended to mean. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 69 (MED) Þe firste is Phison, and is to menynge ful wexynge of plente [L. qui interpretatur inundatio]..Gangus is to menynge felawschippe..Þe fourþe is Euphrates, þat is to menynge [L. quod sonat], fructuous. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 17 Raphael is to menynge þe medicine of god [L. medicina dei]. ?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 48 That is to menying that [Fr. c'est a entendre que] ye shulde loue and doute youre husbonde. a1456 (a1402) J. Trevisa tr. Gospel of Nicodemus (BL Add.) f. 95^v (MED) I axed of an hebrewe..what þe children cryed in þe speche of hebrewe, and he tolde me what hit was to meenyng. c. With possessive: that which a speaker or writer intends to express, imply, or insinuate; the intended sense or underlying point of a person's words. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun] sentence?c1225 intent1303 tenora1387 intendment1390 strengthc1390 porta1393 meaningc1395 process1395 continencea1398 purposec1400 substance1415 purport1422 matterc1450 storyc1450 containing1477 contenu1477 retinue1484 fecka1500 content1513 drift1526 intention1532 vein1543 importing1548 scope1549 importance1552 course1553 force1555 sense?1556 file1560 intelliment?1562 proporta1578 preport1583 import1588 importment1602 carriage1604 morala1616 significancy1641 amount1678 purview1688 sentiment1713 capacity1720 spirit1742 message1828 thrust1968 messaging1977 c1395 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 151 Ther is no fowel..That she ne shal wel vnderstonde his steuene And knowe his menyng openly and pleyn And answere hym in his langage ageyn. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 15925 Of his menyng, I wote þe way, bot his faire spech I can not say. ?1531 J. Frith Disput. Purgatorye i. sig. b3^v I wyll bryflye declare the meaninge of the apostle. 1621 T. W. in tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard sig. Aiv^v I hope I haue hit of his meaning, though I vary from his wordes. 1731–8 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. (1963) 147 I can tell your Meaning, by your Mumping. 1841 J. H. Newman Lett. & Corr. (1891) II. 336 The Articles are to be interpreted, not according to the meaning of the writers, but..according to the sense of the Catholic Church. 1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preaching (ed. 3) vi. 161 You will be good enough not to misunderstand my meaning. 1937 R. K. Narayan Bachelor of Arts ix. 133 Will you kindly make your meaning clearer? 1993 M. Angelou Wouldn't take Nothing for my Journey Now 40 I don't see how you could misread my meaning. You must be paranoid. d. Originally Law. within the meaning of the act: within the specific terms of any statute; (more generally) within the bounds of the law; also in extended use. ΚΠ 1766 Act 6 Geo. III c. 48 All Oak, Beech, Chestnut..and Birch Trees, shall be deemed and taken to be Timber Trees within the true Meaning..of this Act. 1789 Act 29 Geo. III c. 68 §155 All returns of Spanish shall be deemed..to be returns of tobacco within the meaning of this Act. 1848 Commerc. Rev. South & West Oct.–Nov. 261 If the circulation is $90,000, and the specie reserved is reduced to $10,800, the bank has only to pay out its notes for a New-York draft of $5,000, that draft being gold and silver coin within the meaning of the act. 1892 Catholic World May 228 Mr. Forster's bill proposed to render eviction for non-payment of rent a disturbance within the meaning of the act of 1870, which would entitle the evicted tenants to compensation. 1939 N. Marsh Overture to Death xxiii. 268 She's one of these society ladies who, if they were born in a lower walk of life, would set up for themselves in a rather exclusive way, but well within the meaning of the act. 1987 Daily Tel. 10 Aug. 13/6 Unsorted bundles of cheques and paying-in slips were not ‘other records’ within the meaning of the Act. 1988 C. Hitchens Not knowing Half of It in G. Wolff Best Amer. Essays (1989) 150 The horridly warm relations between the Buenos Aires junta and the Soviet Union..did not count, in the new Kulturkampf, as a tyranny within the meaning of the act. 3. (A person's) motive, intention, or purpose. Usually in singular. Now archaic. †upon a meaning: with the intention (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose willeOE highOE thoughtOE intent?c1225 achesounc1230 attenta1250 couragec1320 devicec1320 minda1325 studya1382 understanding1382 suggestionc1390 meaninga1393 i-minda1400 minta1400 tent1399 castc1400 ettlingc1400 affecta1425 advicec1425 intention1430 purposec1430 proposea1450 intendment1450 supposing?c1450 pretensionc1456 intellectionc1460 zeal1492 hest?a1513 minting?a1513 institute?1520 intendingc1525 mindfulness1530 cogitationa1538 fordrift1549 forecast1549 designing1566 tention1587 levela1591 intendiment1595 design1597 suppose1597 aim1598 regarda1616 idea1617 contemplationa1631 speculation1631 view1634 way of thinking1650 designation1658 tend1663 would1753 predetermination1764 will to art1920 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 4837 Whan Collatin hath herd hire telle The menynge of hire trewe herte. c1430 (c1395) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 464 It was myn entente To forthere trouthe..this was myn menynge. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 2315 (MED) He knewe him and his menynge. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. i. 10 Be ye perfecte in one mynde, and one meanynge. 1585 A. Poulet Let. to Walsingham 27 Apr. in Letter-bks. (1874) (modernized text) 11 This cloth of Estate was set up at the first coming hither of this Queen, upon a meaning that she should dine and sup ordinarily in that chamber. 1592 Greenes Groats-worth of Witte sig. C3 Lucanio..had a good meaninge to vtter his minde. a1593 C. Marlowe Jew of Malta (1633) iv. ii Yet, if he knew our meanings, could he scape? 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear ii. 161 I am no honest man if there bee any good meaning towards you. View more context for this quotation 1633 J. Ford Broken Heart iv. i. sig. G2^v A man of single meaning. 1781 W. Cowper Epist. to Lady Austen 98 A..visit..made almost without a meaning, Produced a friendship. 1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion iv. 192 You..Adore, and worship, when you know it not; Pious beyond the intention of your thought; Devout above the meaning of your will. View more context for this quotation 1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iii. 57 Since we learnt our meaning here, To uplift the woman's fall'n divinity. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxxiii. 48 Sure, sure, if stedfast meaning, If single thought could save, The world might end to-morrow, You should not see the grave. †4. a. Knowledge, understanding. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > [noun] i-witnessc888 knowledging?c1225 wittinga1300 beknowing1340 sciencec1350 bekenningc1380 knowinga1398 knowledgea1398 meaninga1398 cunningshipa1400 feela1400 understanda1400 cognizancec1400 kenningc1400 witc1400 recognizancec1436 cognition1447 recognitionc1450 cognoscencec1540 conscience1570 comprehension1597 comprehense1604 cognizant1634 sciency1642 scibility1677 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 146^v Dyuynours meneþ þe rauen haþ a maner vertue of menynge and bodynge of dyuynacioun. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 563 (MED) Þe saule has..Menyng, and þat of thinges thre: þat is and was and ay sal be. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. 138 (MED) Ich haue no kynde knowyng..ȝe mote kenne me bettere By wat wey hit wexith and wonder out of my menyng. b. An opinion, belief. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > [noun] > a view, notion, opinion > on a particular point sentencec1386 opiniona1393 meaninga1398 belief1528 resentiment1606 value1637 resentment1675 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 38 And somme membres..stondiþ in here oune vertue, by þe menynge of phisiciens [L. secundum opinionem medicorum]. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 7017 (MED) For to folis longeth kyndely, Withoute a-vis to speke folily, Vndiscretly his menyng to fulfille, Where a wysman schal heryn & be stylle. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 332 (MED) The rehercid firste premisse myȝte not be trewe but if he schulde meene..that Crist..wolde haue ordeyned bi him silf..al that is nedeful to his clergie..But this meenyng is vntrewe. a1450 (a1396) W. Hilton Eight Chapters on Perfection 29 (MED) And so vndir sikirnes of þat meenyng and of þat fals wenyng, þei coueiten ech of hem to handele and fele oþer and kisse oþer. †5. Remembrance (chiefly in to have (also make) meaning of (also on)). Also: a commemoration, a memorial. Cf. mean v.¹ 12. Obsolete.Cf. minning n., often occurring in Middle English manuscripts as a variant reading for this word. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > [noun] > commenting or mentioning mentionc1300 remembrancea1393 meaninga1400 mention-making1534 mentioning1565 commemoration1576 commenting1597 voicinga1626 memoration1627 citation1640 naming1677 observing1719 commentation1833 the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > [noun] i-mindOE mindc1300 commemorationc1384 meaninga1400 memorial?1471 recordance1490 mind-making1496 mindfulness1530 memorizing1600 recordancy1654 memorialization1862 the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > commemorate [verb (intransitive)] to make memory ofa1325 to have (also make) meaning of (also on)a1400 to make meaninga1400 monea1400 jubilee1887 the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > [noun] > memorial minginga1225 memory?c1225 mindc1300 memoriala1382 memoranda1400 memorativec1487 remembrativea1500 meaning1503 monument1531 commemorative1636 memoira1711 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 3196 (MED) Þi dede in mening [a1400 Vesp. minnyng] sal last ay. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 24748 Quen i ma mening o þat mild..Þat giues me lust of hire to rede. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 5208 (MED) Lorde, haue on me menyng! a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 8320 (MED) When þou has of þi syns meneyng. c1440 (a1400) Awntyrs Arthure (Thornton) 236 (MED) Hertly one hande, I hete the to halde With a melyone of messes to make thy menynge [v.r. mynnyng]. 1503 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 72 Atour he sal nocht ring Laurence at the saule messe nor menyngis, bot for the nobill and honorabill personis of the town. 1539 Haddington Burgh Rec. in Trans. E. Lothian Antiquarian & Field Naturalists' Soc. (1958) 7 3 Anent the ringing of the bells in menyng. †6. Mention. Only in to make meaning (often in negative constructions). Cf. mean v.¹ 10. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > speak [verb (intransitive)] > speak of or mention sayOE showa1200 monec1225 roundc1275 specifya1300 sermon1303 nevenc1330 readc1330 reckonc1390 to make meaninga1400 rehearsec1405 express1430 remember1531 mention1559 the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > commemorate [verb (intransitive)] to make memory ofa1325 to have (also make) meaning of (also on)a1400 to make meaninga1400 monea1400 jubilee1887 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 8518 Childre..Of whiche I make no menyng here. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 25 Noiþer Gildas no Bede..Writes..of no kyng Athelwold..ne Hanelok..Whilk tyme þe were kynges Þei mak no menyng. c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 3795 The boke of Sanges makes of Marie menyng. c1480 (a1400) Prol. Evangelists 14 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 236 Vthire twa, of quhame I wel here menyng ma. Compounds C1. Chiefly in Linguistics and Philosophy (in sense 2a). a. meaning analysis n. ΚΠ 1936 L. Wirth & E. A. Shils tr. K. Mannheim Ideol. & Utopia i. 46 There are..vast possibilities of precision in the combination of meaning-analysis and sociological situational diagnosis. 1966 C. G. Hempel Philos. Nat. Sci. viii. 103 The characterization of these substances by their molecular structure is arrived at, not by meaning analysis, but by chemical analysis. meaning area n. ΚΠ 1958 C. Rabin in Aspects of Transl. vii. 124 The object in question has to be assigned either to the meaning-area of watch or to that of clock. 1970 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 35 298/1 The emphasis here is on the formal patterning of the symbolically represented meaning areas of the group, and such words as interlocking, coherent, unified etc. will be used interchangeably. meaning-change n. ΚΠ 1954 F. G. Cassidy Robertson's Devel. Mod. Eng. (ed. 2) ix. 232 The various types of meaning-change. 1994 Harvard Jrnl. Asiatic Stud. 54 559 A unified dialectic guaranteed by the currency of a universal language (as opposed to language subject to the ‘meaning-change’ hypothesis). meaning component n. ΚΠ 1937 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 67 122 The two principles, meaning-component and factor of psycho-physical appeal, appear intertwined. 1992 Internat. Rev. Appl. Ling. in Lang. Teaching 179 This applies not only to syntax but also to semantics, where words are analysed into meaning components, and to speech act theory. meaning-content n. ΚΠ 1906 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 3 347 A's very intention, meaning-act and meaning-content combined, is not really a peculiarity of the part of my system I call A. 1993 Nous 27 102 The meaning-content of their thoughts or..in Reinachian terms, the ‘Satz (im logischen Sinne), i.e. the meaning of a complete declarative statement’. meaning-making n. ΚΠ 1947 O. Barfield in C. S. Lewis Ess. presented to C. Williams 124 There was an attempt at deliberate and fully conscious meaning-making. 1978 Dædalus Fall 111 We shall pause to investigate, to see whether new modes of meaning-making are issuing from the matrix of nineteenth-century culture. meaning-postulate n. ΚΠ 1952 Jrnl. Symbolic Logic 17 283 There is no way of finding the meaning-postulates of an ordinary language, because no ordinary language is a uniquely defined language. 1986 W. Weaver tr. U. Eco Trav. in Hyper Reality iii. 131 Sometimes, when it comes to the definition of premises, the meaning-postulates that we want to accept, infinite conflicts can develop. meaning potential n. ΚΠ 1954 Philos. Rev. 63 391 The exclusive and sophisticated use [of language] called ‘literal’..is the meaning-potential which..does come under the control of ‘logic’ in the special sense of the scientific tradition in philosophy. 1977 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 1976 21 ii. 198 Important questions remain about Halliday's model, particularly as regards the precise relationship between meaning potential and its realization at the level of form. meaning-relation n. ΚΠ 1907 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 4 200 The meaning relation stands on the same level as the physical, not being merely suggested, but part of the facts asserted. 1992 Mind 101 185 No convention can be taught without some presupposed concept of the meaning-relation and a sign system. meaning-relationship n. ΚΠ 1923 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 38 103 ‘To understand’ means significant comprehension..of the meaning or meaning-relationships to be scientifically constructed for the pure type (ideal type) of a frequent phenomenon. 1990 Philos. Q. 40 359 We need to know what the meaning-relationship is, the metaphysical status of abstract properties. meaning-unit n. ΚΠ 1938 I. Goldberg Wonder of Words xvi. 323 The smallest meaning-unit of a word is called a semanteme. 1962 W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use vii. 162 What we call the ‘same word’ is not a single meaning-unit. b. meaning-bearing adj. ΚΠ 1953 N. Chomsky in Jrnl. Symbolic Logic 18 244 The linguist's morphemes are classes of conforming minimal meaning-bearing units, e.g., ‘boy’, ‘think’, ‘of’, ‘ing’, the plural ‘s’, etc. 1992 Mind 101 184 That key concept of Indian Grammarians: the meaning-bearing soul of an utterance..called ‘sphota’ in Sanskrit. meaning-carrying adj. ΚΠ 1965 H. A. Gleason Ling. & Eng. Gram. 192 We might have had the meaning-carrying verb washed. 1987 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 92 1110 Different novels vary with respect to their multivocality, their ability to impress, their power. It is essential for social scientists to recognize this variable meaning-carrying capacity. meaning-free adj. ΚΠ 1949 Mind 58 420 This work, Wirklichkeit und Sinn..gives its two basic theses in the subtitles..the first, ‘The objective realisation of meaning in a meaning-free reality’. 1991 Nous 25 622 Regarding our purely semantic..desideratum of a meaning-free account..a proper name..doesn't connote forbidden semantic values such as sinn or meaning. C2. meaning-text model n. Linguistics a linguistic theory conceived as a general theory of all human language, first proposed by the Russians A. K. Zholkovsky and I. A. Mel'cuk in 1965, and based on the postulate that every speech event presupposes three main components (form, content, and correspondence between an infinite set of meanings and an infinite set of texts). ΚΠ 1970 I. A. Mel'cuk in Linguistics 57 12 We would suggest as the first and principal goal of present-day semantics the construction of a meaning-text model of language. 1991 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 36 387 The Meaning-Text model of language, originating in the Soviet Union in the 60s, and developed since in North America..has produced studies in Dependency Syntax..and Explanatory-Combinatorial Dictionaries of Russian and French. meaning-text theory n. Linguistics = meaning-text model n. ΚΠ 1981 I. A. Mel'cuk in Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 10 44 The idea of defining the structures in the MTM [i.e. meaning-text model] in terms of sets of rules representing well-formedness conditions was introduced into the meaning-text theory by L. N. Iordanskaja. 1990 Word 41 223 Dependency Syntax is a generally well-done and convincing presentation of one brand of dependency analysis, namely the Meaning-Text theory (MTT). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022). meaningn.³ Brit. /ˈmiːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈminɪŋ/ Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: mean n.³, -ing suffix¹. Etymology: < mean n.³ + -ing suffix¹. Astronomy. rare. The motion of the sun in mean longitude (i.e. along the ecliptic). ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > sun > solar movement > [noun] race1590 journey1613 meaning1884 1884 Observatory 1 Jan. 3 As we make no distinction in our theories between the real motion of the Sun in longitude and that of the mean Sun, the meaning of the real Sun is fixed when [etc.]. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). meaningadj. Brit. /ˈmiːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈminɪŋ/ Forms: see mean v.¹ and -ing suffix². Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: mean v.¹, -ing suffix². Etymology: < mean v.¹ + -ing suffix². 1. Having an intention or purpose. Chiefly with modifying adverb or adjective used adverbially.Recorded earliest in well-meaning adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [adjective] > relating to intention or purpose > intending or purposing wilful1340 meaning1498 purposing1532 intended1576 intending1660 intendant1884 1498 Interpr. Names Goddis & Goddesses (de Worde) sig. Bi^v/1 There were..Well menyng marchauntes w^t tru artyfyceres. 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxli Right as see yeueth floode, so draweth see ebbe, and pulleth ayen vnder wawe al the firste out throw, but if good pyles of noble gouernaunce in loue, in wel meanynge maner, ben sadly grounded. c1592 Faire Em sig. B3^v That with thy cunning and defraudfull toung, Seekese to delude the honest meaning minde. 1633 G. Herbert Glance in Temple ii Had the malicious and ill-meaning harm His swing and sway. 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa IV. xlvii. 268 At first,..and (till I observed her meaning air, and heard her speak) I supposed that she had no very uncommon judgment. 1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality II. viii. 13 One of them..is..as little meaning of harm to any one as his mother. †2. With modifying adverb or adjective used adverbially: designating a word which conveys meaning in a particular way. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1573 R. Lever Arte of Reason i. i. 2 They of the fyrste sorte maye bee termed Lykesounding wordes: They of y^e second sort, like meaning words: They of the thyrde sorte, playnemeaning wordes. 3. Conveying or expressing meaning or thought; meaningful, expressive, significant; suggestive. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > high significance, expressiveness > [adjective] sententiousc1440 pregnant?a1475 significant1566 senseful1596 mattery1602 significative1639 expressive1690 meaning1726 voluminous1804 meaningful1852 eloquent1870 1726 J. Thomson Winter 6 The Cattle, from th' untasted Fields, return, And ask, with Meaning low, their wonted Stalls. 1728 E. Young Love of Fame: Universal Passion (ed. 2) v. 110 The motion of her lips, and meaning eye Pierce out the Idea her faint words deny. 1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby ii. 9 ‘Had done business with him’, said Mr. Bonney with a meaning look. 1865 W. G. Palgrave Narr. Journey through Arabia I. 115 The thoughtful expression of his large forehead and meaning eye. 1885 Manch. Examiner 10 July 5/5 At this frank confession a meaning smile passed between Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Childers. 1906 J. Galsworthy Man of Prop. 156 The Superintendent's brother-in-law frowned, and said in a meaning tone: ‘We have no doubt the opinion of the Court could be taken. May I ask the name of the gentleman who has given us that striking piece of information?’ 1953 J. Wain Hurry on Down 23 They began by a barrage of meaning glances and loud asides to try to move him. 1975 R. Davies World of Wonders (1977) i. v. 40 Willard..gently stroked my left buttock. Gave it a meaning squeeze. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹a1200n.²c1384n.³1884adj.1498
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† meaningn.1

meaningn.2

Compounds

meaningn.3

meaningadj.

† meaningn.¹

meaningn.²

meaningn.³